What I Want to Do With My Life

As I have told you before, I will be going to Villanova University next year to major in Nursing. However, I am also going to do NROTC so that after college I will be employed by the United States Navy for at least 4 years as an officer. However, when I get a job as a registered nurse when I get out of the Navy, I hope to do very well for myself. I have everything planned out pretty well, and now I just have to follow through on it. I am excited to see what lies ahead in the future. 

 

Catholic Memorial Experience

I really enjoyed my time here at CM. I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of skills that have prepared me for the future. The classes I took were for the most part very good, and I feel pretty prepared for the road that lies ahead. I also had a great time playing sports, and was even elected captain of the cross country team this year. However, I have to be honest. CM has a lot to improve upon. The science department could use better teachers in a few cases, and the building needs some renovations. Also, fire Jay Kelly, the I.T. "professional". He is really bad at his job. All in all, however, Catholic Memorial is an excellent institution, and I am very glad that I made the decision to come here. I forged numerous friendships which I know will outlast my time here.

V For Vendetta

I liked this movie. It displayed just how powerful a nation's people can be. It is important for people to be in control of their government. This is the democratic idea that has proved to be the most powerful and effective governing system in our history. Should governments be afraid of their people though? I think not. Under a good regime, neither the people nor the government fear each other. Rather, they should share a mutual respect for one another. No country should ever be ruled by fear, from either side. But back to the movie. the story was good and so was the acting. The special effects were solid. However, some events didn't make sense. For instance, when V gets lit up by the firing squad and doesn't even get knocked down? Come on, man. Otherwise, very solid movie.

 

Red Sox Begin Their Season

It's that time of year again. The Boston Red Sox have started up their 2014 season. They opened up their season with an away game against the Baltimore Orioles, which they lost 2 to 1. However, they continued their season last night with a 6 to 2 win. Notable performances were recorded from starter John Lackey, closer Koji Uehara, first baseman Mike Napoli, designated hitter David Ortiz, and second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia actually had four singles last night, and had a key defensive stop in the field. The Sox play again tonight against the Orioles in the final game of the series. From there, they come back to Fenway Park for Opening Day. That will be this Friday April 4, 2014. It will be a 2 o'clock afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers. It should be a good one. Defend the belt.

The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly of A.I.

I'm going to be honest. I did not like this movie in the slightest. It was weird, sporadic, and the plot ending literally made no sense. If I were to change anything, I would change the fact that this movie exists. There was so much talented acting employed into this film for nothing. I did not like the time context of this film, and quite frankly it was nonsensical. I will give it to the producers though, the special effects were pretty cool, and very well done. However, such great special effects should be incorporated into a better movie. If I had to change the ending of this film, I would have had David turned into a real boy by the aliens, instead of the aliens just bringing his mother back for one day. I did not see how David felt in any way fulfilled by the singular day he was able to spend with his mother.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is a concept that gives machines such as computers the same amount of "brainpower" that a human might have. However, computers these days have acquired even more intelligence that most humans could ever dream of having due to developments in things such as computer programming and the Internet. Computers are basically capable of running our entire lives now, and that is a result of artificial intelligence. We are the creators of the world we live in, and we hold the keys to castle of computers we have built around our lives. For instance, computer science has been incorporated into things such as research, global positioning systems, medical equipment, financing global economies, and countless other entities. I just hope we will able to keep things on at least a mostly human level, and not let these machines take over our lives any more than they already have. We do not want something like an I, Robot situation going down.

 

March Madness

The season is upon us. March Madness has begun. Get your brackets ready, because it's going to be a good one. I made two brackets. My first bracket is what I want to happen, and my second bracket is what I think is actually going to happen. In my first bracket, I have Kansas, Wichita State, Wisconsin, and Villanova in my Final Four. I also have Villanova winning it all. I chose this outcome solely because I am probably going to attend school at Villanova next year. My second bracket it pretty different. In my Final Four I have Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Wichita State. From there, I have Wisconsin winning. In this same bracket, I have Villanova getting knocked out in the second round by UConn. A big sleeper in this tournament is Steven F. Austin State. I have them going to the Sweet Sixteen.



      

 

Nike FuelBand vs. Jawbone UP

The Nike FuelBand is a fitness-assistance device that attaches to a person's wrist. It monitors things such as time intervals, heart rate, and workout intensity. It also can be used as a watch, and now is Bluetooth 4.0-enabled to connect to your smartphone. The nike FuelBand can act as a pedometer and an odometer, as well. It is also waterproof. The Nike FuelBand can also connect to the Nike+ app on the iPhone and Android. It goes for about $150. It's pro's include the following: it is a great workout motivator, it is very practical to athletes in training, and it is easy to use. However, based on some customer reviews, its con's include, but are not limited to, durability issues and problems with the battery life.


On the other hand we have the Jawbone UP. It is a very similar wristband device like the Nike FuelBand in that it monitors workout intensity, tells you how much distance you've covered, etc. It is also waterproof, and Bluetooth 4.0-enabled. Similar to the Nike FuelBand, the Jawbone UP also connects to an app on your smartphone. It is known simply as the "UP" app by Jawbone. On this app you can read the information that your wristband collects. It goes for $150, just like the FuelBand. However, the Jawbone UP does not tell time, and does not have an interface right on the device.


If I had to get either of these devices, I'd probably go with the Nike FuelBand. The interface right on the wristband makes it easier to use, and it does not require an app to run it. However, if I had the choice to not use either of these devices, I would. I mean I do exercise a lot, but I really do not see the need to drop $150 on something that you're probably just going to end up using as a stopwatch most of the time.

http://prezi.com/zsibcpysw6qh/nike-fuelband-vs-jawbone-up/

Turmoil in the Ukraine

As you may know, over the past few months there has been a lot going on in the developing nation of Ukraine. From wide-scale rioting to government overthrow to Russian military occupation, the Ukraine has had it pretty rough. Recently, Russian armed forces have occupied the region of Crimea in order to "defend the rights of Russian citizens in the region". However, a lot of people, including myself, see this move as one of Russian aggression, and really unnecessary. The United States has so far done a pretty good job to remain neutral. Today, the United States ambassador to the Ukraine refused to recognize a referendum set forth by Russia to legitimize its occupation of Crimea. I see this as the right move, and is in the best interest of American neutrality. We will have to see what happens from here on out...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/10/ukraine-crisis-us-crimea-referendum-putin-ambassador

Senior Service

I have already finished my Senior Service requirement. I did all my hours during February School Vacation. I served at Brigham and Women's Hospital in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, or the "NICU". While there, I did things such as stock the babies' cribs with blankets and diapers, answered phones, and ran errands for the nurses. Sometimes, if the babies were crying, the nurses would let me rock the babies to sleep. It was a cool experience, and I learned a lot. It made me realize how amazingly talented neonatal medical professionals really are, and how through teamwork the NICU is able to run at optimal efficiency. I really enjoyed my time at the NICU, and would definitely do it again.

2014 Winter Olympics

My favorite part of the 2014 Winter Olympics was the hockey. Even though my beloved Americans did not even medal, it was still a blast to watch. I was also a big fan of skeleton and bobsled. However, I was not impressed by the Russian Federation. They had seven years to prepare, and they still were not ready. The opening ceremony had a very significant glitch in the Olympic Ring display, and I heard that the quarters that they had the reporters stay in were in terrible condition. I must admit though that the closing ceremony was very well done. I also was not "wowed" by the location. Sochi is not even in that cold of a climate, so I don't know that the IOC was thinking when they elected to hold the games there. Overall, however, I think that the games were very good, but could have been done a lot better.

Flappy Bird Off of the App Store?

Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen decided to yank Flappy Bird off of the App Store. Though I am not sure as to why he would do something like that, I do have some thoughts. I think he just got fed up with it. Too many people came after him telling him how bad of a game it was, and he just couldn't take the heat. When you can't take the heat, you have to get out of the kitchen. So he did just that. However, I do not know Nguyen, so I cannot know for sure as to why he would just throw away the thing that made him successful. Maybe it got to his head, maybe he got scared of playing with the big dogs, there is no way of knowing for certain. But to think he just gave up raking in $50,000 a day is insane. I would never do something so nonsensical. This makes me think that he also could have done it out of satisfaction. Perhaps he just got to the point where he made enough money, and decided to withdraw.

 

The Corvette Z06

Chevrolet is coming out with a new model of their Corvette. It is the Z06. It is Chevy's first supercar, and it highly anticipated to be one of the best cars they have ever made. Under the hood is a ridiculously powerful supercharged 6.2 L V8 engine, more than 625 horsepower, and 635 pounds per feet of torque. It is available in both a 7-speed manual transmission and an 8-speed automatic. Needless to say, this thing is fast. I would definitely love to drive one. However, I could never afford it. The starting price is said to be well over $70,000, which is way too steep for my pockets. But I digress. I love the look of it, as well. It looks like a purebred race car that is built for nothing other than speed. I am also glad to see that an American company is finally willing to step up onto the international stage and make a supercar of their own for the first time in years. 

Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp is a 3D modeling program which can be put to use in applications such as architecture, video games, and interior design. Also, the program is said to be relatively easy to use. Google has released most of the program installments and updates, but another company, Trimble, came out with SketchUp Pro 2013. Personally, I think this program looks really cool. From what I have seen on the website, one can make some pretty interesting things on this program. I've see people designing things such as cars, scenes, and even houses and buildings with SketchUp. Also, I believe that this program shows great promise in today's world, since it is very versatile and adaptive to this tech-savvy age.

MakerBot

MakerBot is a 3D printing system which is capable of creating tangible, 3-dimensional objects. Catholic Memorial is planning on getting one in the next year. This device looks pretty cool to me. It can be used in engineering and physics classes during lab studies. It might also be used by something like a robotics club. However, although the MakerBot does look very cool, I do not think it is entirely needed at Catholic Memorial. We have bigger issues to put money toward. For instance, we should work on getting the Wifi fixed before anything else. Also, our computers are not up to par with other schools, so these need work as well. In conclusion, although MakerBot does have its fair share of benefits and educational value, Catholic Memorial simply does not have the time or money to invest in such a device.

Project Fiona

Project Fiona is a gaming tablet that is designed to play PC games. One of the most recent versions comes equipped with an Intel i5 chip, 4 GB of RAM, Windows 8, and a 64 GB SSD. It is capable of connecting to other devices such as a keyboard, an HDMI cable, and anything that connects via USB port. This device is capable of running even high-end games such as Dishonored at a staggering 59 frames per second. This device seems pretty awesome to me. Although I have never really gotten into PC gaming, I'm sure this device makes gameplay very enjoyable. The best part is its portability. This allows a gamer to take the joys of PC gaming on the go. The one downfall Project Fiona has is that it is very expensive. The most basic model costs close to one thousand dollars, and higher-end models can cost up to twelve hundred. This can be a major turnoff for most buyers. But, if I had that kind of money to spend on a gaming device, I would seriously consider making this purchase.

 

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