To Act or Not to Act

Hamlet's soliloquy seems to be addressing the topic of how tragic life is. Steve Jobs, however is speaking about the greatness of life and all of its wonders. Steve Jobs is speaking in front of an audience, explaining his life choices and telling them to love what they do and enjoy life. He tells them to get up when life puts you down because you never know what is in store. Hamlet is struggling within himself on the topic of existence. From what I can understand, which isn't much (Shakespeare), Hamlet is debating whether it would be better to be dead or continue on living a life full of regret and grief. Steve Jobs has found his reason to keep on living and in turn has put it out for others to indulge in. Hamlet hasn't found his reason and is therefore struggling internally to find an answer.  

Dear Steve

The speech was truly a great read and I can't imagine the emotions he must have poured into it. We really got to see a glimpse into his life and see how it may relate to ours. The speech was at a college graduation and what he spoke of must have gone straight to the graduate's hearts. He spoke of his triumphs, but also of his failures and how each of these things shaped him into the person he was. Steve attempts to give the graduating students meaning to their life. He tries to tell them that in life you will fail but to push through because one failure may lead to a triumph. Not all are as lucky as he was and not all will be as successful as him but his attitude about failure is what makes his words meaningful. What you're doing now in life may not make sense, but that's normal, eventually it will. Keep on living and enjoying yourself because life is truly great.

The Value of Choice

I do not really care what we study in this unit, hold on, let me explain. My big question has a lot to do with this subject and therefore I think anything we learn about will be beneficial to me. I have been wondering ever since I had the ability to think freely what the point/value is to life and why I am living it. I believe most of the work/reading/activities that are shown in this subject matter will help me better understand the answer to my big question and that is also what I hope to get out of it, and answer. Well maybe not an answer but at least mine and my peer's opinions on the subject. I don't believe there is one true answer about the value of life, only your own thoughts of what the importance of it is. If I had one suggestion it would be some kind of discussion where we discuss everyone's thoughts on the afterlife.

Netvibes Dashboard

NetVibes
I have only used this website for a limited amount of time but I can tell I will like it. I am looking forward to playing around with all the different things and apps you are able to add to one spot. This becomes the place where you will come to every time you turn your browser on so you can put anything important to you here. I for one put my email, weather, world news and other applications that I know I would have just looked up on the internet anyway without this dashboard. The dashboard serves as the connector of it all, bringing in to one place that is simple to set up and appealing to the eye.

Vocabulary 4+5= (6)

 accede- agree to a demand or request
Ex. My father usually accedes to my mother's requests for work to be done.
 brandish- wave (a weapon) as a threat
Ex. My brother always makes brandish moves when he is playing with his lightsaber.
 comprise- consist of; be made of
Ex. The blog post you are reading is comprised of vocabulary words and their definitions. 
 deft- quick
Ex. The old lady was deft for her age, she sneaked out of sight seemingly instantly. 
 destitute- without basic necessities of life 
Ex. When we found her she was destitute and had hypothermia. 
 explicit- stated clearly
Ex. When my dad is angry, the words coming out of his moth are explicit.
 extirpate- root out/destroy completely
Ex. The company said they could extirpate the ants living in our home.
 inopportune- occurring at an inconvenient time 
Ex. The man crossed the street at an inopportune moment, just as a rushing car slammed into him.
 ironic- happening in the opposite way to what is expected.
Ex. It's ironic that the school was closed for a snow day just one day after the Superintendent stated that there would be little snow this winter.
 musty- having a stale, moldy or damp smell
Ex. Those chips began to smell musty over the weeks.
 officious- intrusively enthusiastic in offering help
Ex. The newly instate boss became officious after his promotion. 
 ominous- giving the impression that something bad is going to happen
Ex. Every suspenseful book gives you an ominous feeling before a big reveal.
 pinnacle- peak
Ex. Most people reach the pinnacle of their career during their 30's. 
 premeditated- thought out beforehand 
Ex. My wife's birthday dinner was premeditated, it took weeks to plan.
 rampant- spreading unchecked
Ex. The disease had become rampant in our state, infecting millions.
 solace- comfort in a time of distress or sadness
Ex. I provided solace to my mother after my grandmother died.
 stately- having a dignified manner of appearance
Ex. The young prince acted in a stately manner wherever he went.
 supple- readily adaptable to new situations
Ex. The species is supple to the new environment.
 suppress- forcibly put an end to
Ex. The police forcibly suppressed the riot.
 venal- open to bribery
Ex. It was well known that the police captain was a venal official.
 adroit- clever or skillful in using hands or mind
Ex. Albert Einstein was known for being adroit in anything analytical.
 amicable- having a spirit or friendliness
Ex. The young boy was amicable even after the death of his mother.
 averse- having a strong dislike or opposition to something
Ex. He is averse to the idea of the legalization of medical marijuana.
 belligerent- hostile/aggressive 
Ex. When asked to go take a bath by his mother, the boy became belligerent and uncontrollable.
 benevolent- well meaning and kindly
Ex. The new family had nothing but benevolent feelings towards their new neighbors.
 cursory- hasty/not thorough or detailed
Ex. I performed a cursory review of the test because I did not have enough time to study.
 duplicity- having two parts
Ex. He was warned not to trust the woman, who was known for her duplicity.
 extol- praise enthusiastically
Ex. Most of the world seems to extol the politician, but I do not think much of him.
 feasible- possible to do easily
Ex. Some people did not think it was feasible, but we built the tower in 40 days.
 grimace- facial expression of pain or disgust
Ex. After being shot in the foot, a grimace ran across his face.
 holocaust- destruction/slaughter on a mass scale
Ex. The bubonic plague created a holocaust of deadly proportions.
 impervious- not allowing to pass through
Ex. The dam was seemingly impervious to the rushing water.
 impetus- force or energy
Ex. The approaching deadline gave impetus to the investigation.
 jeopardy- danger of loss, harm or failure
Ex. When going to serve overseas, you put your life in jeopardy every day.
 meticulous- showing great attention to detail
Ex. He was meticulous in the way he organized his Cd's.
 nostalgia- sentimental longing or affection for the past
Ex. After seeing that old movie, a sudden rush of nostalgia crossed my body.
 quintessence- the most perfect or typical example of a quality
Ex. Cups of tea are the quintessence of being English.
 retrogress- go back to an earlier state
Ex. Our economy is retrogressing ti the way it was years ago.
 scrutinize- examine or inspect thoroughly
Ex. The police investigator and his team scrutinized the house for any clues.
 tepid- showing little enthusiasm
Ex. I have a tepid look on my face throughout the musical.

Today's Presentations

I apologize in advance for any shaky camera movements and you may need to turn up your speakers to be able to hear it.

Big Question Follow-Up

Article
This is an article I found that somewhat relates to my big question. Why do we as humans strive for success, when it seemingly does not matter in the end? I truly do not understand what the point is of working your %$# off for 50 years in order to make "big bucks" doing something that you do not enjoy. Success for me will be looking back at my life in 60-70 years and coming upon the realization of, "Dang, I had fun". I think this can be achieved by me working at a profession I enjoy, it won't matter as much if I am rich, middle class or poor, I just want to live.
Why do you strive to succeed?

Freedom Of Choice!

The best part of being responsible for your own decision making is you get to do what you want when you want. Of course there are some guidelines, but you can generally do what you want to do. I'm assuming the point of this post is to relate it to the course and the blog. A con of not having a strict set of guidelines is the fact that I have no clue what I am doing or why I want to do it. The fact is we are so used to being told what to do that even when we aren't told what to do, we look for someone to fill that void. This course isn't only an English class or a simple course requirement, we are being taught how to think for ourselves and do something that we love. I think at this point I am hesitant to think of what lies ahead but I think that when I look back at this experience at the end of Senior year, I will be glad this was my chosen class. 

No Child Left Untableted

No Child Left Untableted

What I would do in this situation is cater to the different types of learners and educators. If the young, new teacher would like to use this new technology to further the education of their students, then sure let them do it. However, if the old teacher disagrees that this way to learn is the best, let them teach the class their own way. I would say that the children and their parents should also be able to have a say in this. The children could be placed in a class depending on what they/their parents think is best for them. I think it would be great to have this sort of technology at our school and can only dream of the reality of it. Technology has overtaken our world, and especially as the younger generation, we cannot get away from it. I read articles and posts all the time on the internet and I believe it is a valuable source of learning. 

Why is one opposed to this way of learning? I'd say it is because they are not used to it. It seems foreign to them, something unreachable. The fact is that is is already here and, as we have experienced so far with the creation of this blog, it works. There is no need for teachers to give out menial busy work when they could be using technology to further the education and learning experience of their students. I'm not sure how this kind of thing would work for a math class, but I'd give it a try. I plan to study and go into a field heavily dictated by technology so I may have some sort of bias. What I want to say in this short post is that people need to dig deep into themselves and realize that the future is here, there is no need for these old fashion ways of learning, but I will respect your decision to use them.

Declaration of Learning Independence

I am excited yet hesitant to see what this class has to offer. As we talked about today, we are going to start taking learning into our own hands. I have no clue what this means, to be honest. At our school we have never had the chance to be able to do what we want and get graded on it. This blog has been a great experience for me so far and I feel like it is truly helping me learn. I'd like to work on my big question. This class is likely to be me finding out what the point of life is and why I am trying so hard to succeed in it. If I have some sort of idea that I think is worth working on in more detail, then sure I will be involved in the collaborative working groups, but for now I'd like to stick to my big question. There are unlimited amounts of resources out there for me to read about why we value  success so highly. I can build a blog based entirely around this and trying to find a reason to succeed and lead a good life.

Vocabulary #5

 adroit- clever or skillful in using hands or mind
Ex. She is a remarkably adroit and determined politician.
 amicable- having a spirit or friendliness
Ex. The old woman was very amicable, even after the death of her husband.
 averse- having a strong dislike or opposition to something
Ex. He is averse to the idea of same-sex marriage.
 belligerent- hostile/aggressive 
Ex. When asked to go take a bath by his mother, the boy became belligerent and uncontrollable. 
 benevolent- well meaning and kindly
Ex. The new family had nothing but benevolent feelings towards their new neighbors.
 cursory- hasty/not thorough or detailed
Ex. I performed a cursory review of the test because I did not have enough time to study.
 duplicity- having two parts
Ex. He was warned not to trust the woman, who was known for her duplicity.
 extol- praise enthusiastically
Ex. Most of the world seems to extol the politician, but I do not think much of him.
 feasible- possible to do easily
Ex. Some people did not think it was feasible, but we built the tower in 40 days.
 grimace- facial expression of pain or disgust
Ex. After being shot in the foot, a grimace ran accross his face.
 holocaust- destruction/slaughter on a mass scale
Ex. The bubonic plague created a holocaust of deadly proportions.
 impervious- not allowing to pass through
Ex. The dam was seemingly impervious to the rushing water.
 impetus- force or energy
Ex. The approaching deadline gave impetus to the investigation. 
 jeopardy- danger of loss, harm or failure
Ex. When going to serve overseas, you put your life in jeopardy every day. 
 meticulous- showing great attention to detail
Ex. He was meticulous in the way he organized his cd's. 
 nostalgia- sentimental longing or affection for the past
Ex. After seeing that old movie, a sudden rush of nostalgia crossed my body.
 quintessence- the most perfect or typical example of a quality
Ex. Cups of tea are the quintessance of being English.
 retrogress- go back to an earlier state
Ex. After the huge storm, our town began to retrogress toward our former technology.
 scrutinize- examine or inspect thoroughly
Ex. The teacher began to scrutinize the young boy's essay.
 tepid- showing little enthusiasm
Ex. When I am forced to watch Nascar, you will see a tepid look on my face.

Literature Analysis #1: What's Luck Got to do With it?

Topics/Events
1A. The book I read is one that starts out by giving you a history of gambling. It continues off this point into explaining why people throughout time have gambled. After you have the basis of what gambling is and it's history, you learn about how mathematics is applied to gambling. When your understanding of the math behind gambling is high, you learn how to analyze situations and the probability of one thing happening over another.
1B. This book gives you an understanding of how gambling started, the mathematics involved in the process and how to best maximize your ability to win.

2. The author of this book decided to write on this subject because it truly interests him. When he took a statistics class in high school on this subject his teacher was very boring and he hated it. During his college years he met a professor who was very energetic and excited about the subject, this led to him enjoying the subject and pursuing a career in it.

3. I chose to read this book because it seemed like information that may be useful to me in the future and information that I will never forget. I also love history and after reading the first chapter, I knew I would enjoy the book.

4. This book seemed very realistic. As he traveled through time explaining gambling in ancient cultures and how it differed from today's gambling I felt like I was peering into an ancient casino 2000+ years ago. I have read articles and watched movies about people who were heavy gamblers and lost tons of money but never had I heard of people like this from ancient times. Well-off people could throw away money at these ancient casinos (who were mostly small houses/rooms). I could use these old tales of gamblers and relate them to those that I know in modern times.
People
1. There were tons of characters represented in this book that I know the author, or anyone alive today, had never met. This is where creativity in non-fiction writing plays a role. He wrote of the history of gamblers in a very understanding tone. He seemed to know how they felt about gambling and why they could lose fortunes on games that seemed so trivial. He also wrote of philosophers that discovered different theories involving probability. When he wrote of any of these people you could assume that he knew them personally. I think the author was one who did tons of research on his subjects prior to writing about them.

2. One woman, who upon inheriting money through the death of her husband, sneaked into a gambling house to play at one of the tables. She was a pretty young woman whose husband had died from a terrible accident, although at this time women were not allowed into the 'casinos'. She acted as if she were a male and even had some success playing with the "big dogs". This luck would not last forever as she began to lose ample amounts of her inheritance. She just could not stop and eventually all of her money was gone. Luckily for her, although tragic for her sister, another death ensued. The woman's sister died soon after all of her money was gone and, as the sole benefactor, more money came her way. She could just not stay away from those tables and as it happened before, she had great success. This success never lasts forever and again she gambled away all of her money. She began to borrow from the casino, and knowing she could not pay it back, she hanged herself. I would use direct characterization if she was a fictional character to easily let you know what kind of person she was. Another character in the book was a young eccentric scientist. His work and theories on probability were years before his time and went largely unrecognized. He worked his butt off for his short life but nobody seemed to care about his wacko ideas that mathematics was involved in gambling. He died at the ripe age of 34 and it took 200 more years for the world to recognize his ideas as the truth. Since he was a "wacko" scientist, I would use indirect characterization to help you get to know him by showing the crazy things that he thinks of throughout the day.

3. Both of these characters met a tragic death but what makes them interesting to write about is that people still have a reason to know who they are. The young woman is an extreme example of what may happen or have happened if you were an uncontrollable gambler. The young scientist is interesting to write about because he is a person, although not of importance during her lifetime, was important two centuries later. This is the same sort of thing you see today with authors and artists whose work of arts do not gain much recognition until after they are dead.
Style
1. The author used more of a journalistic style where he focused straight on the facts and explained how they related to the subject he was discussing. You have to understand that the part of this book with characters in it was largely based on historical figures. He used these historical figures and stories about these people to explain how gambling started and how it continued. Only a few of them had a story behind their hopes and desires.

2. When it comes to describing how a place or an area looked, the author would give lengthy and detailed descriptions. I think the author thought it was important to get you immersed in the historic areas that were described. Things are easier to understand when you have a mental picture of what you are reading about. People were described in a small amount of detail but there was always a deep reason why they were mentioned. A scientist or mathematician may have thought out an important equation or theory. A common citizen may have lost all of their money in a gambling house and the author would explain the game that they had been playing and the (likely) way that they lost it. These choices affect the book in a way that may be hard to understand. I think the way it is written is perfect for me. I am able to picture the gambling house and am able to at least see a silhouette of the person I am learning about. I can hear the commotion of the room and the happiness or sadness floating around the table. To me the book was easy to understand after being so immersed in the past.

3. The author uses his own views on the topic and the reasons that he wrote about it to set his enthusiastic tone towards what he was writing about. He explains his original dislike of the subject and his turnaround to be in love with it. This helps you to keep an open mind about what is being discussed even if you think it may be tedious at times.

4. I think the author must be a professor. Throughout the book he seems like a very inspired professor who wants you to learn the goodness of his favorite subject. I do not believe he wrote this book as a means of making money but as a way of informing the masses about the history and mathematics behind gambling. I don't exactly know how to explain why I feel the author wrote it this way it is just my interpretation of what I read.

5. He drops many names and provides you with a longing curiosity to find how who these people truly are. Since this book is non-fiction, the people described were real living people. Most of the ones described I was able to look up on the internet and read more about who they were. This gave me a deeper understanding of their motives.
Enduring Memory
There is no such thing as luck. No matter how many times you roll a dice, if you collect a big enough table of data, the percentages of the individual numbers you roll will even out. This means that no matter how "lucky" you are, eventually you will lose. Some people do not understand this concept and will end of losing their fortune. I will remember this forever as I venture into adulthood and have the ability to go gamble. I will know my limits and when I'm on a hot streak I will know that it cannot and will not last forever. I will also remember that everything we know of today that has to deal with the subject of mathematics was created by hardworking individuals in the past. Many of these people never got the praise that they deserved. I respect everything that people in the past have done as it has made life better and better for us. I can only hope to leave such an impression for future generations after I die. This book relates to my big question in a weird way: Why are we here? Why do we strive for success when in the end it seemingly does not matter? I am closer to understanding the answer after reading this text. This is strange as I did not expect to find part of the answer in a book about gambling.

Vocabulary #4

 accede- agree to a demand or request
Ex. After a two hour debate, we decided to accede to the girl's wants.
 brandish- wave (a weapon) as a threat
Ex. As I was approaching the swordsmen, he made a brandish move towards me. 
 comprise- consist of; be made of
Ex. My essay is comprised of facts and examples.
 deft- quick
Ex. The deft crook sneaked out of sight quickly.
 destitute- without basic necessities of life 
Ex. We found a destitute man hiding in the forest.
 explicit- stated clearly
Ex. Many rap songs have the word explicit next to them to warn people of their strong language.
 extirpate- root out/destroy completely
Ex. My father and I extirpated the ants from the house.
 inopportune- occurring at an inconvenient time 
Ex. My father opened the door to my room at an inopportune time.
 ironic- happening in the opposite way to what is expected.
Ex. It's ironic that the school was closed for a snow day just one day after the Superintendent stated that there would be little snow this winter.
 musty- having a stale, moldy or damp smell
Ex. The piece of wood that was left out out in the rain had a musty smell to it in the morning.
 officious- assertive of authority in an arrogant way
Ex. The newly elected student body president became officious after his victory.
 ominous- giving the impression that something bad is going to happen
Ex. Many suspenseful movies have ominous scenes leading up to a big scare.
 pinnacle- peak
Ex. The baseball player reached the pinnacle of his career at the age of 28.
 premeditated- thought out beforehand 
Ex. The murder was premeditated, thought of for days before its occurrence. 
 rampant- spreading unchecked
Ex. Cheating has become rampant in the past few years.
 solace- comfort in a time of distress or sadness
Ex. I provided solace to my mother after my grandmother died.
 stately- having a dignified manner in appearance
Ex. The young prince acted in a stately manner wherever he went.
 supple- readily adaptable to new situations
Ex. The species is supple to the new environment.
 suppress- forcibly put and end to
Ex. The police forced suppressed the riot.
 venal- motivated by susceptibility to bribery 
Ex. Why should these venal politicians care how they are rated?

Will Study For Food

"Stuck at Prom Scholarship"
This Scholarship is one that I find completely hilarious and therefore I believe it deserves a mention. You can earn up to $3,000 dollars in such a silly way. That amount of money for a task that seems so simple and fun is pretty ridiculous. If I make it into a UC, it will cost me upwards of 20k and into the 30k's for all fees. Luckily I will have the help from my parents but any amount of money will help. This scholarship isn't one that I would have to "study" for.

"Stokes Educational Scholarship Program"
This scholarship would provide an unlimited amount of money (depending on how well they like you). It is available for students who score at least a 1600 on the SAT with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The recipient must be planning on studying Engineering or Computer Science at college.

Vocabulary #3

 accomplice-a person who helps another commit a crime
Ex. He was my accomplice in the bank robbery.
 annihilate- destroy completely
Ex. The wrecking ball was meant to annihilate my house before we built a new one.
 arbitrary- based on random choice
Ex. My selection for senior pictures was arbitrary.
 brazen- bold/ without shame
Ex. With a brazen disregard for the rules, the man continued talking loudly on his cell phone in the library.
 catalyst- something that increases rate of a process 
Ex. Her death was a catalyst to the solution of the problem of drinking and driving.
 exodus- mass departure of people
Ex. My ancestors went on an exodus to the new world.
 facilitate- to make easy
Ex. My teacher was able to facilitate the word problem I did not understand.
 incorrigible- not able to be connected
Ex. Our relationship was incorrigible after the breakup.
 latent- concealed
Ex. My talent for singing is latent.
 militant- combative/ aggressive in support of a political or social issue.
Ex. The senator was militant in his disapproval of same-sex marriage.
 morose- sullen/ ill-tempered
Ex. Her attitude towards school work was very morose.
 opaque- not transparent
Ex. The window in our living room is opaque, and therefore useless.
 paramount- more important that anything else, supreme
Ex. Her paramount actions proved how spoiled she must have been as a child.
 prattle- talk at length in a foolish way
Ex. My mother and I prattled for an hour last night.
 rebut- claim that something is false
Ex. He had to rebut charges of rape in order to save his politcal career.
 reprimand- express sharp disapproval
Ex. He was reprimanded for his use of swear words in the work place.
 servitude- state of being subject to someone more powerful
Ex. I took a sentence of servitude over that of jail time.
 slapdash- done hurriedly of carelessly
Ex. Her project was definitely slapdash.
 stagnant- having no current or flow
Ex. The pond is always stagnant at this time of the year.
 succumb- fail to resist
Ex. I succumbed to the pressure.