Category: general news

Stuff having to do with the news in general.

Space Hotels Make Vacationing Among the Stars Possible!

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The Galactic Suite Space Resort is reported to be on schedule and expected to launch its first guests into space in 2012. Guests would pay roughly $4.4 million for a three night stay at the space resort and an eight week training program on an island. The Virgin Galactic, a space touring company, would launch four lucky guests and two astronaut pilots from a spaceport in New Mexico into the sky to single pod, where the visitors would land alone and not be met up with staff. Each ride would cost each passenger roughly $200,000.

Once at the Galactic Suite, the guests would be harnessed in a velcro suit so they could shift around their rooms by adhering to the velcro walls. The guests will be able to see the sun rise 15 times in 24 hours and circumnavigate around the globe every hour and 20 minutes.

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Apple’s future

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nullApple CEO Steve Jobs is taking his second leave of absence from the company in two years. Due to his medical condition, Steve Jobs has asked the board of directors for granting his request for leave of absence.

However, as he is focusing on his health, he will still serve as CEO and stay involved in major decisions for the company. Tim Cook , who is Apple’s chief operating officer and the genius behind Steve Jobs, will take control of the company while Steve Jobs is absent.

It seems that there is no such a big problem for the world’s largest tech company. However, now there major concerns are whether Apple will still be able to produce innovative products without Steve, and whether will Steve’s health will affect Apple’s Stock or not.

“Tiger Mother”

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chua
Amy Chua has been sparking controversy across the world with what she calls her”Tiger mother” approach on parenting. Her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” describes how she has parented her two daughters. She does not believe in sleepovers, play dates with friends, or activities. Amy has two daughters.

Her publicity began when attention was drawn to her book. An article was written about her book titled “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” In one case, the “Tiger Mother” yelled at her daughter calling her “garbage” and threatened to not give her food and not allow her to have a bathroom break because she was not playing the piano perfectly — this daughter is 7 years old….

Because of such abuse, “Tiger Mother” has gotten death threats from strangers who believe she is am unfit mother. When confronted with the facts, she stated ” My book is a memoir, not a parenting book! I think there are many ways to raise great kids.”

Among the uproar, a woman named Ayelet Waldman wrote a response essay entitled ” In Defense of the Guilty, Ambivalent, Preoccupied Western Mom.” Within this piece , Waldman touches on the fact that she believes “Tiger Mothering” is advocating child abuse.Read More »

Roommates.

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When I first went to OVS I had no idea how I would live with another person in the same room as me. The last time I did that was when I was eight and shared a room with my big brother. It was almost a year and a half ago when I met roommate. I walked into the room, number 207, with no idea of who would be in there or how I would react to them: that was when I met Polina.

She was relatively quiet at first, and I only really heard her talk when she was on her phone at night, speaking rapid Russian to her mother. But we slowly grew closer to one another, starting our conversations about music and then leading them on into the unknown. She became one of my closest friends.

When we had separated from each other at the end of our freshman year, her going to Russia and me staying in southern California, I didn’t know the effect it would have on me. I would be talking to my friends about school and instead of calling Polina, “my roommate,” I called her, “my Russian.” (I later found out that she refers to me as “my Aria” when she’s home in Russia)

This year, I was very grateful to have Polina as a roommate again. We already knew each others likes and dislikes, we never had an argument, and we practically knew what the other one was thinking. We had already been through and gotten over the awkward faze of living with a new person, and I never thought I’d be able to get on so well with someone so different than me.

I don’t know how I would have been able to make it through the long years at OVS without my roommate to help me through them.

Я люблю тебя сосед по комнате!

Tianjin: the Self-Sustainable City of the Future

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The environmentalist trend has struck China with a bang. No, Tainjin is not just recycling and sorting out its trash. Tianjin isn’t just implementing solar power in a few office rooms here and there. Tianjin isn’t just planting trees or building houses with sustainable bamboo hardwood. No. Tianjin is going all the way.

Tianjin is becoming China’s first ever eco-city, meaning entire communities will be self-sustainable. Surbana Urban Planning Group, the company that designed the 30 square kilometer eco-city, is revolved around environmentally friendly construction. Other projects by Urban Planning include construction in Shanghai, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Urban Planning will be finished with the eco-city in an estimated 9 years. The new city is said to be ready in 2020 for a whopping 350,000 inhabitants to experience. The newest energy saving technologies will be used and residents will be able to choose from many landscapes, making commutes a thing of the past.

Selfless Hero

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I wish there was more I could say about this story. I wish this post could do more than just inform you about the tragedies that people go through. I wish that this story had a happy ending. But, what can I say? There is no happy ending, only a tragic, unsettling story.

This story is about a 13 year old boy who gave up his life to save his younger brother. His brother is safe and warm and still living, but his life was lost in the flood that took him and his mother away.

Jordan Rice was brave in every way. How can I say that when I didn’t even know him, right? It turns out that this little boy was afraid to swim. Terrified of water and yet he was willing to die for the safety of his family.

There is no news article or blog post written well enough to express this boy’s heroism, but the world should know his name. So, I post this blog to inform you that recently an average 13 year old from Australia became a hero on Monday, January 10, 2011.

Jordan Rice

Say Hello to Ophiuchus, the New Zodiac Sign

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I personally have always been confused with my zodiac sign. Not that I believe horoscopes to begin with, but the fact that my birthday, January 20 (don’t forget!) has been borderline with the Aquarius and Capricorn signs. Some horoscopes tell me I’m the Water Bearer, others tell me I am the Goat. Obviously, when people would ask, I would tell them I am an Aquarius, just because it sounds a tad bit prettier than does a goat.

However, a new addition to the zodiac family of constellations has shifted the dates of many other signs. The 2010 zodiac dates were shifted to fit in the new 13th zodiac sign in the 2011 zodiac calendar.

Ophiuchus is also known as Serpentarius and was an uncommon, rarely used zodiac sign. However, many claim that the Earth has changed its tilt throughout the years, it faces a new constellations. For this reason, Ophiuchus was added to as the 13th sign.

For me, this change is just confusing. I’ve always called myself an Aquarius (or at least I had the choice to call myself an Aquarius) but under the new calendar, I am a Capricorn. This annoys me thoroughly and I have my fingers crossed that Ophiuchus gets taken out of the original zodiac family so that I can call myself an Aquarius once again.

Welcome To the Future

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The Jetson days have arrived!

In the early 1960’s people predicted that cars would fly and a robot named Rosey would clean your house. And while we don’t walk around in skin tight jump suits and don’t have glass elevators in our living rooms, we have certainly reached a new age for technology.

We gawked when they created the iPad. We jumped when they came up with the cell phone. We screamed for the new computer technology and we gasped at the invention of the car. Now, our eyes are open from forehead to chin and our mouths have dropped all the way down to our toes at the idea of a self-controlling automobile. That’s right! A car that can DRIVE ITSELF.

Jetsons

Rosey can’t believe it either. It turns out that Mercedes, a car company known for its slick style and prestige, may have created a vehicle that will change transportation for the better and rid the world of their fear of driving.

Just think…no more reckless driving, no more crashes and – not that I condone drunk driving – but the chances of losing your son or daughter at the hand of some idiot driver can be reduced to about one in a million…well, hopefully.

The only drawback is the price. This Mercedes made car will burn a very large hole in your wallet, a big $100,000 hole. But, if this incredible new invention blows up, then let’s hope that prices will lower and we will finally feel safer on the road.

So, is this new self-operating vehicle too good to be true? Well, the idea is still very young and still a prototype, but we will soon find out. Goodbye to reckless driving, hello to the future of automotive.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/01/09/cars.future.ces/index.html

The Da Vinci Code Revealed

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Finally, after months of research, the results are here. The Da Vinci Code truly exists in one of the most famous paintings of the world, Mona Lisa.

“Invisible to the naked eye and painted in black on green-brown are the letters LV in her right pupil, obviously Leonardo’s initials, but it is what is in her left pupil that is far more interesting,” said Italian researcher Silvano Vinceti, the chairman of the Italian national committee for cultural heritage.

On her left pupil, the two letters, mostly likely to be B and S than C and E are written. S could represent the House of Sforza, where she belongs.

Also, under the right arch of the bridge in the background, 72 or L2 is covertly revealed. Some people might relate the number 72 to Jewish religion. However, I believe the number 7 symbolizes the time God took to create the world and the number 2 might signify a male and a female as most others agree in theory.

After all, the character Robert Langdon from Dan Brown’s series of novels is not merely fictional. Many researchers are now pursuing to decode the mysterious messages alluded by Leonardo Da Vinci, a genius in symbolism.

Ask Me To Marry You Like You Mean It!

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Just recently, I read an article on the 5 worst ways to “pop the question” on Yahoo.

As I was reading, I was shocked when I heard that someone had the audacity to ask the question on Twitter. The conversation went something like this:

“To @emilychang – After fifteen years of blissful happiness I would like to ask for your hand in marriage?”

“@maxkiesler – yes, i do.”

When I read this, I couldn’t help but think, “What happened to privacy and romance?” I would hate to be proposed to in any way other than face to face, with my partner on one knee. But of course, that’s just me.

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