Category: general news

Stuff having to do with the news in general.

Drive Safely.

eternity1030Leave a comment

A few days ago, one of my friends in China got injured from a car accident, in which the driver was texting while driving.

The tragedy reminds me of an informal survey I did during this summer. The survey was based on the new policy about “texting-while-driving.”

Gov.Andrew Cuomo signed new legislation increasing penalties for teens caught texting-while-driving, and the penalties apply to any kind of cell-phone activity while driving. Under the proposal, violators’ licenses would be suspended for 60 days after their first conviction.

The number of cellphone-related car accidents in New York State increased by 143 percent between 2005 and 2011, according to New York.

According to my informal survey of 10 New Yorkers from East Village area, teenagers spend more time on texting than the older group and about 10% of people interviewed drive and text.

Drivers talking on cell phones are 18% slower to react to brake lights in front of them and they take 17% longer to return to their original speed after braking, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Also, early CBS reports showed that Harvard researchers estimate about one in 20 U.S. traffic accident involve a driver talking on a cell phone.

The legislation brought people in agreement. Most of people think the policy was fairly helpful and efficient.

However, there are still lots of people who remain neglectful the importance of not doing something else while driving. I think it is not only the governments’ responsibilities to reinforce the laws, but also people’s obligations to control themselves.

Please, when you drive, do not do anything else.
Texts can be delayed, lives can not.

Left-handed vs. Right-handed

eternity1030Leave a comment

There simply were not many left-handers left alive compared to right-handers, and more car accidents occurred among left-handers according to earlier researches.

To determine the reason of why fewer left-handed people are among the elderly population, a study was conducted last year by Diane Halpern and Stanley Coren at San Bernardino.

Researchers studied death certificates of 987 people in two Southern California counties. Relatives were queried by mail about the subjects’ dominant hands.

The results showed that left-handed people represented 10 percent of the U.S. population and left-handers usually died earlier than the right-handers.

Their findings support a 1989 study published in The American Journal of Public Health that found a higher rate of accident-related injuries in left-handed people.

Dr. Halpern and Dr. Coren also speculated that “left-handers might fall victim to underlying neurological or immune-system problems as well.”

An earlier study of baseball players showed that from the time statistics were kept, the average life span of left-handers was, “nine months shorter than that of right-handers.” The proportion of left-handers is “13 percent among people in their 20’s, but only 1 percent among those in their 80’s.”

“People born left-handed were forced to change to their right hands,” Halpern said. “Almost all engineering is geared to the right and there are many more car and other accidents among left-handers because of their environment.”

Should Marijuana be legalized?

infamousdolphinLeave a comment

After the legalization of recreational Marijuana in Colorado and Washington, stoners from all around the world have their hopes at an all time high (pun-intended) for a nation-wide legalization. Would legal weed be good for America? Or will it end up with the addiction of many?

Protester takes it to the streets

Even though most stoners might try to convince everyone that weed is “all natural” and that it has no repercussions, that is not entirely true. Heavy consumers have shown deteriorating mental and physical health over time, as well as slower reaction time. However, no one has ever died from an overdose, or at least it has never been reported.

Asides from the negative effects, what good could it bring for America? The legalization of Marijuana could help the economy by taxing the product, and considering that Marlboro cigarettes is the second most profitable product in America, it is certain that a company that big could bring the project afloat.

The Real Battle For Syria

infamousdolphinLeave a comment

Asides from the rumors of the United States arming rebels, the Obama administration hasn’t truly intervened in the ongoing Syrian conflict all that much until recently. The deployment of chemical weapons in Syria caused a major disturbance that cried for the US government to step in. However, is a US intervention truly necessary? Or is it just fresh lemonade for America’s insatiable oil thirst? Most people would argue that the purpose of an intervention is to protect refugees and civilians. Others would argue that the US is after Syrian oil fields. Unfortunately, both of those assumptions are wrong. We all wish it was just that simple; however, considering America’s Predator Drone rampage in Pakistan, it is safe to assume the Obama administration doesn’t really care about civilians, and Syria’s oil fields resemble a droplet of water in comparison to Iran’s massive ocean.

Bashar Al-Assad leader of Syrian government.
Bashar Al-Assad, leader of the Syrian government.

So one may ask, why is the United States of America meddling in this foreign mischief? Simple, the answer is oil. Not Syria’s oil, but rather Iran’s. In 2010, Syria, Iran and Iraq set a plan in motion which was set to build a pipeline connecting the south of Iran, through Syria and into Europe. Seems harmless right? Considering that all that precious oil will most likely end up in western hands. However, the original plan was to include Qatar, one of the world’s largest oil producers, and a beloved ally of the USA, to supply a pipeline that would go through turkey and into Europe. Nonetheless, Bashar Al-Assad, the ruler of Syria, decided that its enemy Sunni states shouldn’t be involved, so he denied their participation. Instead, Syria chose to stick with the Iraq and Iran plan with Russian support over the Qatar and Saudi Arabia option with American support. If Syria, Iran and Iraq  permit the involvement of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the Nabucco pipeline, a project set to diminish European dependence on Russian energy would be successful. However, Iran and Syria refuse to support the Nabucco project and decided to stick with the Syrian pipeline, also known as the Trans-Arabian . Nabucco would go through Turkey instead.

To this point it is obvious that the reason the United States wishes to topple the Assad regime is to gain control of that pipeline and restart it. This time with the main participation of Qatar and Saudi Arabia. This also explains the constant intervention of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, who have been supplying weapons to the Free Syrian Army and the rebels. To summarize, the pathetic excuses of the Obama administration are specifically designed to maintain the public distracted from the real intentions of the US, which are and will always be to obtain more oil. A perfect example was set in the Bush administration, where George W. Bush claimed that there were WMDs present in the region of Iraq and invaded the country. The US found no WMDs and the entire war just ended up on another pipeline that  the dutch company Shell now controls.

Links:

http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=SY

1-0…. Again

callmemaybe321 Comment

Well we just played our first game of the season on Wednesday and just like last year’s first game…. WE WON!!!!

It was a great game against Thacher’s JV squad, but we came out on top.

The game started of with an upbeat tempo.

One of our running-backs, Min Choi, scored a touchdown on the first play of the game.

I thought I was going to be a lot more excited when that happened, but I felt like crap.

I had been fighting a gnarly cold all week and I still am.

I had crap in my lungs making it hard to breathe, and I was just generally exhausted from being sick.

On top of that I was stupid and forgot to drink anything during the day which is unlike me. I was so crazy dehydrated during the game that I kept getting dizzy, and I didn’t really pay attention to what was going on; I kind of just played and that was it.

Anyways, it was still fun to play.

Playing a game is always fun especially when the score climbs and climbs and climbs, with nothing on the opposition’s side.

By about 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter the score was 44-0 in our favor.

Thacher ended up scoring shortly after that, but it wasn’t enough to make a come back.

We were very excited to play, and we as a team are looking forward to playing Trinity Classical Academy next week.

It is going to be a very tough game, as Trinity was 5th in California last year, but we are a different team then we have ever been.

Before our games and during practice sometimes I lead a chant where I ask my team what season it is. The answer to the question…. THE SEASON!

This is the season for OVS football. Almost our entire team is seniors. We have all played and started for 3-4 years. The total years between all the players is what all high school teams are looking for.

Not to mention, or defensive and offensive line adds up to close to 1,000 pounds of pure man.

I hope this season goes well and I hope we go undefeated. The only downfall to us going undefeated is that I made a bet with a teammate.

I bet him if we went undefeated I would pierce my nipple and my ear, and connect the two piercings with a chain.

I have no idea why I made this bet, but in the state of happiness I will be in if we win every game, I don’t think the pain will bother me.

Stay tuned to the blog to check on the well-being of my nipple, oh yeah and also how we do on the rest of our games.

This is THE SEASON!

Half Mast

callmemaybe321 Comment

It wasn’t always been this way, or at least so I hear.

It has become semi-normal to see the red, white, and blue flag the represents freedom to be halfway down the pole.

September seems like there has been an unusual amount of days to have the flag be lowered.

We started the month of with 9/11.

That was the only day that made sense for the flag to be at half-mast. Not to say that 9/11 should have happened, but it’s been 12 years, the wounds have healed, but to see it down two other days this month, that was unexpected.

First we start off with the Navy shooting.

I don’t even really know what happened, but that’s the issue.

I don’t read into these things, it’s just like oh, there’s another shooting, and I move on.

I see 12 people dead and while yes I get sad, at the same time we have been trained to go, “oh 12.  That’s a lot less than that other one.”

Excuse me, but for the children, teens, and even adults to just expect that is really f****d up.

It is common talk to just be like, “hey, did you hear about that shooting?…Oh yeah some guy went crazy and just shot some people.”

Usually the response to that would be tears and cries and millions of questions why.

I literally had that exact conversation on the way to football practice the other day. I talked about 12 people dying for no reason, and then just strapped on my helmet and went on with my day.

And then again a few days later I look up, and there the flag is, just hanging halfway down the pole. I was like somebody must’ve gotten lazy and forgotten to put it up, but nope, another shooting.

I just saw that on the TV the other day and I was like you’ve got to be kidding me, another one. 

IT IS JUST SO NORMAL!!!! Why is it normal for 3 year olds to be shot in a park having a good time? IT’S NOT!!

A 3-year-old was shot in the head while having a fun day in the park, and the world just moves on. #wtf

I was sitting at breakfast with my grandparents and I brought up the latest shooting.  This time it wasn’t in the U.S., but still, any shooting is crazy.

My grandma said, “I feel so bad that you guys have to grow up in this time, it wasn’t like this when I was young.”

That got me thinking. Is it just going to keep getting worse? By the time I have kids I’m going to have to put them in bullet proof vests to walk out of the house.

Now, this isn’t a lobby for gun control. This is a lobby for the crazy people in this country.

If you are crazy and reading this…. please don’t shoot people.

For everyone else. I don’t care if you have a gun. Shoot targets, go hunting, but not for people.

But, do you really need an AR-15 hanging around your house. Are you really gonna go shoot a dove with a gun used to kill enemy forces overseas. If so, more power to you, but I think there are some more sensible gun options for you.

There’s not really much that I can do to control the crazy effed up people in this world, but I’m just a little sick of that flag not flying at the top is all I’m saying. I want to see good ol’ red, white, and blue, flying at the top of the pole, majestically flapping in the wind.

A snake bites a tiger

frog3Leave a comment

4g4g

The nation that rides the East and the West is a serpent to all.

It is large, powerful, and not easily defeated.

Not even the western tiger can hope to quell its fang.

Kindness, grace, or even hope for the future does not calm the serpent’s fury.

It must bite and poison all of mankind to be satisfied.

No law is strong enough, no punishment is harsh enough.

The western tiger claws at its elongated body, the serpent squeezes tighter.

The western tiger loses breath, and begins to fall.

The tiger pleads for compromise, the serpent’s squeezing stops.

They return to their lands and the cycle begins again.

Speak emotion, not words

frog3Leave a comment

fef

When a human speaks what comes out?

Is it failures, hopes, dreams?

Do the words represent freedom?

Or just a logical way to communicate?

Humanity has not always been united in this regard.

Thousands of cultures have existed.

These ancient people made art, tools, and crafted language.

Progress always had it’s price.

Skin color, cultural values, and language all warped.

People could their differences to others.

It is these differences that has caused conflict.

A False Democracy

frog3Leave a comment

gtjk4lghjk4

An entity was built a while ago.

Its purpose is not always known.

Sometimes it serves.

Other times it does not.

It’s inaction lets a nation rot.

Angry people yell and frustrate easily.

Yet never blame themselves for a problem they create.

The powerful man was given his power.

Not by sword but by the check of a ballot box.

Why should one blame an evil that they create?

It is the will and determination of one citizen that can make all the difference.

Democracy or dictatorship, in a sense the citizens choose.

When not happy a single spark of injustice can change a nation.

Phonebloks: The Phone of the future

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

Last night I was on Facebook, just cruising as I do and I see a link shared by my Dad’s company.

The caption of this video was this, “Very interesting idea. Would you adopt this phone technology? // #phoneblocks”

I was like, “well this might be interesting.”

I have had an iPhone for 5 years. I got the iPhone 3 on my 13th birthday, and from there I haven’t thought about having any other phone.

Droids have come out and the iPhone still seems better. The Galaxy series came out, and still the iPhone seems better, but this Blok phone is the 1st phone that I have thought about actually switching to.

This phone isn’t out yet, but the concept is great.

Electronic waste is an ever-growing thing in this world, and our phones are contributing to this issue greatly.

Our phones aren’t made to last, they are made to last until a new one comes out and then suddenly stuff starts to break.

This block concept eliminates the phasing out of the entire phone.

There is a block for every component of the phone, so if one breaks, you just replace that block.

It allows the user the ability to customize their phone. Photographers can upgrade to a bigger camera, old people can go simple so they know what the hell they are doing and don’t have to ask me how to press a button that says “phone” to use the phone.

(Love you mom).

This idea needs funding, and it needs to be spread across to all of the executives across the country so people know about it.

On October 29 they will send a blast out to all major companies to try to get the process rolling.

They need our help to get the word out.

Go to phonebloks.com and join the Thunderclap so that they can get enough people to make their dream a reality.

Not only could this introduce a brand new, very cool phone to the market, but it could cut down on waste and help the general well-being of the world we live in.