Camp Hope

So I just got back from Camp Hope. Camp Hope is a camp run by CBCM for inner city DC kids from the projects. These kids are children who attend various functions run by Little Lights, an organization that primarily works with inner city DC children from the projects. I must say, I had a difficult time there.

It did open my eyes to a few things. These things being, what a self-centered, selfish person I am. Here I am touting that I am a christian and I believe in God, but I am not at all God-centered. What I find funny, is my bible study lesson for the week is about the obediant Christ-centered Christian. The Lords works in mysterious ways. So, I made some deicsions in my life to fix that. We'll see how that goes.



Here's a video I made of Camp Hope 2009. It's not the greatest, but I did it in under 4 hours after midnite. Not an excuse, but it is an explantion. I wanted to have it ready for people to see the next day, but ironnically, no one saw it at all.

An Imagery Assignment

In one of my classes I had us guided imagery as a relaxation technique and then write it down as descriptive and to the best of my memory. I have decided to share it with you all.

I started out sitting on a hill underneath a tree. The hill is next to an elementary school, so I can hear the children playing on the playgrouns. I can feel the soft grass underneath me. I'm looking towards the sun, which is setting over some woods. The sun is just barely above the woods, and will set soon. I get up and start walking down the hill onto the soccer field that is to the right of the woods. The wind is blowing gently bringing me the scents of the grass and the woods. I head towards the line of houses that are at the far end of the field. There is a small path in between 2 of the houses. As I walk on it, There are backyards to my left and woods to my right. The woods block out the sun and make the path very shady. I can see the cracks in the path and the grass and weeds that are growing out of them. The path starts out as asphalt but eventually turns into a dirt path. I keep walking and the path clears the trees and leads me to a street.

I cross to the other side of the street, and to my left there is a pool. to my right, there is an open field where kids like to play ball. As I look forward, the path goes back into the woods. I walk towards the woods and there is now a creek to my right. The creek bubbles gently and I can hear the tiny splashes of the crayfish and minnows. I come to a fork in the road. To the right is a bridge and to the left is a path with a log directly on the path. I head towards the log, I always have fun jumping over the log. The path is completely dirt by now, and it's somewhat soft under my feet but not quite muddy. It is very shady on the path due to all the tall trees on either side of me. There is still light enough for me to see though, because the sun is peaking through the trees to light my way. As I continue to walk through the woods and down the path, a creek intersects the path. There is a rock path that leads across the creek, placed there by my hands. The path is made of rocks that line the creek; it is made of as many flat rocks as possible and runs from one side of the creek to the other. I cross the creek and continue walking.

So, that's it. What do you think? boring or good? I dunno. The imagery came from my childhood. The hill is a place where I always went when I was younger if I was feeling unhappy. the path is one I used to walk with my family all the time. Most of the imagery is real, with just a little that is fabricated and/or exaggerated. you be the judge if it's good. I got full credit for the assignment though.

Personal Dog ATM

Oh my God, this is the most hilarious story I have EVER seen. Thank God my dogs have never done this to me.

LOL wow!

Hey I find this hilarious! So I was searching my username, out of curiosity. and guess what I found? some idiot was really pissed off and wrote a blog about Sylvia Brown this stupid fraudulent psychic. There was heavy debate on the youtube site. Now you have to understand, this person wrote this article in 2007, and the comment I made on the youtube site, I can't even remember it. But the fact that the person was enraged enough over my comment to mention me in a blog makes me laugh. Not to mention the fact that I think the person missed the point of my comment. See for yourself

http://youtubemovie.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/cnn-sylvia-browne-fraud/?referer=sphere_related_content/

Waking Up

So I've noticed something, I have issues. Ok, It's not something that I just noticed, more like something that's recurring. What happened? Well I'm going to tell you whether you care or not.

This morning, all I wanted to do was sleep. Was I allowed to? No. From 7:30am, I was repeatedly woken up. At about 9:30 I lost it. Lost my brains that is. My dog was barking non-stop. I knew what she wanted and could have just given it to her. But instead, I got really angry and started yelling and screaming at her. Then my sister started calling. First she calls the house phone, thn she calls my cell phone, then the house phone again!!! I'm trekking up and down the stinking stairs trying to reach the phone she's currently calling to tell her to SHUT THE F*** UP!!!! So when I finally do get hold of her, I yell and scream into the phone, and hang up on her. It wasn't until about 10 minutes later and after I had calmed down did I realize she might have been calling me for something important since she was so insistant.

So, do I have issues? Yes, Yes I do. But then, God is gracious. Thank the Lord, someone forgives me, cuz I know for sure my sister hasn't.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" - 1 John 1:9

FoxFire

So despite it being a rather old movie...well...old to me anyway, Foxfire is an awesome movie. There is one scene with with some nudity and it has some lesbian undertones, but it is an awesome movie about teenagers, finding their way through life. It's about life changing experiences and the people you meet who change your life. Ok...I admit it, It's about teens breaking the rules and having fun doing it. But there's other stuff too! It's a very profound movie that touched my heart and I loved watching them do the things I could never do in High School. And the best part? Angelina Jolie!!!!! The woman that almost everyone either admires or loves. She really is a cool person. So check this movie out!

Buying clothes

Do you know the wonders of a navy base store? or for any military store that is? Today I went shopping at the Navy Exchange. In the clothing aisles, we went to the 75% off section. Now here's the thing. The military takes name brand clothing like Liz Claiborne, Columbia, North face, and Calvin Klein, and drops the price by $10-$30(depending on the brand) for their customers. Then, when the season's over, they put them on clearance. If the clothing STILL doesn't sell, they put everything in the 75% off the clearance price section.

So, If you don't mind being a season out of style, You can be like my family who spent $30 on 20 pieces of clothes. Mind you, this is not a thrift store. These are brand new clothes. On our total purchase we saved $111 and that's just the military's price on them!!!

Westboro Baptist Church

WestBoro Baptist Church, who are they?
They are a "church" who claim God hates gay people, and from everything I've read about them, God hates everyone else too. Excuse me, God hates everyone but the Westboro Baptist Church. Apparently, God even hates those who have many of the same beliefs as the WBC, as long as they oppose the WBC. The WBC have been labeled a hate group and a cult by many. I agree.

I bring them up because I heard on the radio, that the WBC may be protesting at the Illonois First Baptist Church of Maryville. Now I find this church interesting on many points.

1. If both church are baptist, then shouldn't you be supporting them and not protesting them?
2. Where in the bible does it say to protest and hate your fellow christians for loving sinners?
3. Didn't Jesus love sinners? and hang out with them every day too?
4. How come the WBC's primary income is law suits?

You know, I know God says to use the gifts he has given us, but I do not think he meant it in this way. So, to the WBC, although I doubt you'll ever read this, God loves you, but God also loves everyone esle to.

I will not judge the Westboro Baptist Church, for the bible warns us "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Matthew 7:1-2. I will also never do anything in vengence even though my heart wishes to, for the Lord says 'If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,'says the Lord." - Romans 12:18-19

Actually I prefer to take the route the Lord provides for us in Romans 12:20-21.
"On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:20-21.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church
http://www.godhatesfags.com/

Blowing off steam

So, I think I mentioned this before, but I gave up Facebook, Manga and My Nintendo DS for Lent. So far, I've been doing awesome. However, In my email, I get all this mail from Facebook!!! Telling me my friends have tagged me in this and that. What sux is, I can't get on Facebook to change that. But God has prepared me for just such a temptation by giving me this verse "No Temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

So with this I know that I can withstand it through my outlet, Blogger!!!

Sleepless nights?

Feeling sleepy these days? It may be more than stress! Check it out! This is a good argument for less time spent with video games, tvs and computers. Not that I'm not also addicted, but this article makes me want to shut the computer off more often even though I know I won't.

Why we're sleeping less

By Madison Park
CNN

(CNN) -- Yes, Americans are stressed over the economy.
Our day seems shorter, schedules are crammed and precious sleep hours are sacrificed -- tossing, turning or working.
Adding onto that is Daylight Saving Time, which begins Sunday at 2 a.m. when Americans will have to set their clocks ahead by an hour.
Released this week, the National Sleep Foundation's annual poll estimated that Americans get an average of about 6.7 hours of sleep during a weekday.
The annual Sleep in America poll estimated the hours of sleep have gradually decreased.
Over the last decade, the poll indicates that a growing percentage of Americans is getting less than six hours of sleep and the number of people who get eight or more hours is dwindling.
The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. National Sleep Foundation is a nonprofit organization of researchers, patients and health care facilities. It said it does not solicit or accept funding for its annual Sleep in America polls.
"In the last few years, we've seen the economy take a nose dive, and more people are affected by that," said Dr. Raj Kakar, a medical director at the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders. "More people are stressed. Stress is associated with sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness. The economy is a major factor why people are losing sleep."
The findings echo a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, which reported last year that 52 percent of 7,000 respondents were losing sleep at night from stress.
Aside from financial anxieties, in just a decade society has become more around-the clock and more complex.
"This has been more insidious over two decades," Kakar said. "With the advent of the Internet, cell phone, Blackberries, we're seeing our society is increasingly 24-7. People are able to be active at any time from anywhere, and it causes people to be more active around the clock. This increased activity is essentially giving sleep less importance."
The mean hours of sleep on a weeknight dwindled from an average of 7 hours in 2001 to 6.7 hours this year, according to the Sleep Foundation's poll.
It could be that life in 2009 has more distractions, said Dr. David Schulman, the medical director of the Emory Clinic Sleep Disorders laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia.
So what's taking time away from sleep?
"It's been entertainment, Internet, playing games or TV. People have all sorts of distractions they didn't have back then (in previous years)," Schulman said.
Centuries ago, people routinely slept eight to nine hours a day, he said. But now, only about a quarter in the survey reported getting eight or more hours of sleep.
Doctors warn about the effects of sleep deprivation, such as car accidents, depression, anxiety and cardiovascular problems. Doctors recommend seven to eight hours a day. Schulman likened sleep deprivation to chronic alcoholism.
"When you're chronically drunk, you can't tell when you're drunk," he said "If you're chronically sleep deprived, you can't tell when you're sleepy. You lose the ability to detect how tired you are. It's not unusual to fall asleep behind the wheel."
But there is contradicting research on how much sleep Americans are getting. John Robinson, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, challenged the notion that people are sleeping less in the 24-7 treadmill of modern life.
"There has been no decline in sleep. It's been sustained," he said, according to time-use surveys that date back to 1965.
Robinson, a past director of the Americans' Use of Time Project, monitored time-use diaries to track how people spend their day. Since 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau have gathered time-use information that has consistently reported that Americans sleep 8.6 hours a day.
Dr. Neil Kavey, director of the Sleep Disorder Center at New York-Presbyterian at Columbia University Medical Center, said the statistic is difficult to believe, especially from his New York City practice.
"I can't believe that people get that much sleep in this busy world of ours," Kavey said. "I think a lot of people need 8.6 hours of sleep, but I think very few people get it."
The huge disparities in the results from the Sleep Foundation's poll and the government's time diaries could be attributed to different methodologies, experts on each side said.
The Sleep Foundation's annual findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,000 people in which the participants are asked to estimate the number of hours they usually sleep.
Meanwhile, the government's time use surveys ask people to detail hour-by-hour how they spent the previous day. Between 2003 and 2005, about 37,000 people were surveyed.
The time use surveys may overestimate sleep, because sleeplessness such as insomnia, tossing and turning and lying awake are categorized as sleep, said Dr. Chris Drake, clinical psychologist at Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit, Michigan.
"You may actually sleep four hours, but you're in bed for eight hours," said Drake, who is a board member with the National Sleep Foundation. "They're counting that as eight hours of sleep."
Despite differences in the average hours, researchers and experts agree that stress and work rob a person of sleep.
During tough economic times, people might work longer hours to avoid the risk of running behind on their workload and the possibility of a layoff.
If a person is working more, he or she borrows that time from sleep.
"That's a bad loan," Kavey said. "There's a lot of bad loans going around. Borrowing from sleep is a bad way to go."
And modern society gets some of the blame.

"Our society has valued people who brag about being able to function on very little sleep as a mark of someone who is aggressive, dynamic, successful," Kavey said. "Well, forget that. Admire someone who puts focus on sleep and is not making mistakes (from sleep deprivation)."

There might be more 'Earths' out there?

Here's something interesting. Scientists are finally actually trying to find the little green men out there, or at least where they might live.

Spacecraft to blast off in search of 'Earths'

By A. Pawlowski
CNN

(CNN) -- Calling it a mission that may fundamentally change humanity's view of itself, NASA on Friday prepared to launch a telescope that will search our corner of the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets.
The Kepler spacecraft is scheduled to blast into space on top of a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida just before 11 p.m. ET.
"This is a historical mission. It's not just a science mission," NASA Associate Administrator Ed Weiler said during a pre-launch news conference.
"It really attacks some very basic human questions that have been part of our genetic code since that first man or woman looked up in the sky and asked the question: Are we alone?"
Kepler contains a special telescope that will stare at 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years as it trails Earth's orbit around the Sun.
The spacecraft will look for tiny dips in a star's brightness, which can mean an orbiting planet is passing in front of it -- an event called a transit.
The instrument is so precise that it can register changes in brightness of 20 parts per million in stars that are thousands of light years away.
"Being able to make that kind of a sensitive measurement over a very large number of stars was extremely challenging," Kepler project manager James Fanson said.
"So we're very proud of the vehicle we have built. This is a crowning achievement for NASA and a monumental step in our search for other worlds around other stars." See what the telescope looks like and which part of the galaxy it will monitor »
Are we alone?
The $600 million mission is named after Johannes Kepler, a 17th-century German astronomer who was the first to correctly explain planetary motion. His discoveries combined with modern technology may soon help to answer whether we are alone in the universe or whether Earth-like worlds inhabited by some type of life are common.
"We won't find E.T., but we might find E.T.'s home," said William Borucki, science principal investigator for the Kepler mission.
About 330 "exoplanets" -- those circling sun-like stars outside the solar system -- have been discovered since the first was confirmed in 1995.
Most are gas giants like Jupiter, but some have been classified as "super earths," or worlds several times the mass of our planet, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution who serves on the Kepler Science Council. They are too hot to support life, he added, calling them "steam worlds."
Europe's COROT space telescope caused a stir last month when it spotted the smallest terrestrial exoplanet ever found. With a diameter less than twice that of Earth, the planet orbits very close to its star and has temperatures up to 1,500° Celsius (more than 2,700° Fahrenheit), according to the European Space Agency. It may be rocky and covered in lava.
Scientists have marveled how strange some of the alien worlds are.
"The density of these planets has been astounding," Borucki said. "We're finding planets that float like a piece of foam on water, [with] very, very low densities. We're finding some planets where the densities are heavier than that of lead."
The Kepler telescope, however, is seeking something much more familiar: Earth-like planets with rocky surfaces, orbiting in their stars' habitable, or "Goldilocks," zones -- not too hot or too cold, but just right for liquid water to exist. Watch a NASA scientist explain where life could exist »
Quest for a 'pale blue dot'
Once Kepler spots a planet, scientists will be able to calculate its size, mass, orbital period, distance from star and surface temperature, Boss said. He called the mission a "step one" that will tell astronomers how hard it is to find nearby habitable worlds.
"Once we know how many there really are ... then NASA will be able to build space telescopes that can actually go out and take a picture of that nearby 'Earth' and measure the elements and compounds in its atmosphere of the planet and give us some hint as to whether or not it's got life," Boss said.
Boss believes that there may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy. He said scientists should know by 2013 -- the end of Kepler's mission -- whether life in the universe could be widespread.
The 20-year goal is to someday take a picture of a pale blue dot orbiting a nearby star, said Debra Fischer, an astronomy professor at San Francisco State University, during a NASA news conference.
Boss called it a potentially unprecedented time of discovery for scientists.

"Sometimes, people call this the golden age of astronomy. I think it's more like the platinum age of astronomy. It's beyond gold," Boss said.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/03/06/nasa.kepler.launch.planets/index.html

My first job: Manual Labor with computers

My First Job. I know you all want to know what it was. Here's a little personal info =D
So my first job was with a local school system, moving computers out of schools, and replacing them new ones. We would ship the old computers out to charities and other countries who want them. I started in high school and still work this job during the summers and other times when they need help. It's a cool job and it pays well. but you have to have connections to get the job in the first place.

Working in the summers was always grueling. The horrible heat, lugging 50lb computers all over the place. We got to put them on pallets and they were transported from place to place by truckers, but when you have to load the pallets, shrink wrap them, and then unload them, it's a lot of work and very tiring. So even though you have to have connections to get the job, that doesn't mean it's an easy job. It's just as hard and dirty and horrible to have this job as it is to start out in a fast food restaurant or retail.

Spending money would set this country straight eventually

My Spending Money by Jake Wasdin

People who are willing to spend money. Because our economy is doing so poorly, we're saving every penny we have. But for our economy to thrive, We need to keep spending money. That's the only way our country is going to eventually return to normal.

Frustrations

Someone once told me, and I also read in a book, that it is good to get your feelings out whenever possible. I have a journal, but I'd rather write it here. I am so frustrated! I am a Christian. I try to do Bible Quiet times. A quiet time is when you read the bible, and communicate with God. I was doing that today, and my sister walks in. She was angry and upset, for reason which I still do not know, and started yelling and screaming. She accused me, saying it's my fault because I did not help her by opening the door. Now quiet times are sacred and private. And above all, they are quiet. I wanted to finish before she came home, because when she comes home, there IS no quiet or privacy. When I said I was doing my quiet time, she acted like she didn't care, and she really doesn't. Instead of starting a fight like I normally do, I helped clean up and put away groceries that she brought home. She stopped yelling at me, but she's still angry and I'm so frustrated. Almost to the point of anger. I wish I could yell out! SCREAM!!!! ARGH!!!!

Cute Baby

Here are some very cute pictures of one of my cousins. I thought these were great pictures not just because they're of a cute baby, but also because the person who took them (not me) did an awesome job. She really has a knack for taking pictures sometimes.

Snow Day

Today is a snow day! The one thing I always hate about Blogs is that any information you put on the information is a little more information someone can use to figure out where you live and decide to do something strange if they want. So if I write today is a snow day, you could effectively at lest narrow down areas that are snowing, not that it would do much good since I'm not writing anything more than It's a snow day!!!

So, Here's a little story about such a thing. A man in Information Security was giving a speech on Cyber Safety. The organizers gave him a name of one of the people who would definitely be attending. The day of the speech, the man met a boy named D for a few minutes before he gave the speech. When he started speaking, he called up the person whose name he was given. This person's name was T. Now T, had no idea what was going on. The man, said 'T, I was able to find your name, in several newspapers and newsletters.' He was a runner for his local school and did several other public activities. The man then said, 'T, here's where I found out your mother's name, where you live, where you go to school, and oh, Here's a list of your friends that I found.' The man had enough information that he could stalk the person for a few days and get enough information to steal his identity completely. After he was done comepletely scaring T, he calls up D. He said 'now D, We only met a few minutes before I started, right? Well, here's your name, where you go to school, and where you live.'

Isn't that scary? and this is just someone giving a cyber safety speech. Now you might think I just wrote that up randomly, but it's a true story.