Summer Vs. Winter !

Which of these places would you rather be at ?

A nice warm and sunny beach on a hot summers day...

OR

A typical winters day.. To the extreme.

I think that I would much rather be at the beach. Summer is soooo much better than winter !

Summer time..

In summer, its almost ALWAYS a hot and sunny day. It makes school more bearable at morning tea and lunch because the weather is good and everyone isn't huddled around trying to keep warm. Also on weekends, there is always something to do that doesn't cost heaps of money.. the beach ! The beach never gets boring and there is heaps fo things to do there... like boogie boarding, surfing, swimming, tanning jumping off cliffs (into water) and just having fun !

In summer you pretty much wear togs underneath a singlet and shorts because it so hot and you just walk to the beach whenever you feel like it ( on the weekends and afterschool ). The dairy is afew minutes away to buy ice blocks and cold drinks which cool you down !

Winter time..

Winter is cold and yuck and typical New Zealand; it ALWAYS rains ! I hate it when it rains. Winter makes everything depressing because its always cold and disgusting. School is even more horrible in winter because most luch times are wet and freezing so we have to stay inside. On the weekends, everything that there is to do costs money like the movies or snow planet..

Sure sometimes winter sounds like it would be, snuggling by the warm fire toasting marshmellows, throwing snowballs and making snowmen but its really NOT at all like that.

In winter you have to wear a million layers of clothing because its so cold and you always get caught in the rain. Umbrellas are pretty much useless because they all blow inside out even if you do face them against the wind.

I think that it would be really awesome if there was such thing as SWINTER. Swinter meaning summer and winter ! Like a nice and warm sunny day, then with a snowy mountain for skiing and snowboarding ! There could be a giant ski jump that leads into the sea so that you can jump into the water off a ski jump without getting hurt

This is a picture from the show Phineas and Ferb on Disney Channel. They invented Swinter in one of their episodes. I LOVE disney channel.

10SCHE / WILG Limerick

Frankie encountered some drugs,
For Luke in a profession for hugs,
While Tash and Bree,
Got high on green tea,
Drew’s best friends were bugs.
Lauren and Grace would rave,
And Isaac would misbehave,
While Scott craves pie,
Sėamus would spy,
On Vinay chilling out in his cave.
Courtney Rata can do the splits,
And Courtney Morgan despises nitwits,
While Cerise sings and dances,
Rory talks and prances,
And Stephanie chillaxes in Saint Kitts.
Gabrielle’s futures in construction,
Eve’s is in elections,
Bobbie and Brennyn,
Are always grinnin’,
When our class is in tension.
Steen and Zane are rocking,
Cassandra’s always striving,
While Hillary does her work,
Aleisha carries a smirk,
And Chelsea is amusing.

The Banning of Incandescent Light Bulbs...

The reason for New Zealanders having to cut down on power use is due to the lack of rainfall over the summer. It has not been sufficient to fill up the hydro lakes which supply us with the making of electricity. As New Zealand grows and demand for electricity rises, the lack of additional power stations means that that demand will not be able to be met. We have to reduce power use so that there is more to go around.

New Zealanders are being encouraged to save power and if they don't we will be faced with power cuts. Auckland City is the number one power consuming city in the whole of New Zealand. Studies and observations have shown that The Sky Tower uses and average household's power bill per month every single night.

At the end of 2009, the government is banning the sales of incandescent light bulbs. New Zealanders will be forced to buy Compact Fluorescent Lamps more commonly known as EcoBulbs. EcoBulbs use about 1/5 of the power that incandescent bulbs (the light bulbs most people use now) use. New Zealand will also save $500 million by 2020 and will also cut lighting energy consumption by 20% in about 7 years.

Although these EcoBulbs sound like a good idea to use, there are also many negative aspects. Firstly even though EcoBulbs are supposed to benefit the environment, after they have been used they become toxic waste. This will end up costing New Zealand millions of dollars to dispose of these lightbulbs in the correct way.
The EcoBulbs, rather than heating up instantly like the incandescent bulbs, take 3 minutes to heat up. This means that when you go to turn the light on, instead of it being instantly bright, it is dull for about 3 minutes until it is heated up.

Another negative aspect is that the EcoBulbs are designed to face upwards. An extremely high percentage of New Zealander's house hold lights face downwards. Money again will have to be spent replace light fittings which will hold these bulbs.

So the real question is, will it benefit New Zealand by changing to EcoBulbs?
In my opinion, it probably will benefit New Zealand in the long term but it is still debateable. I think that they should not ban the sales of incandescent lightbulbs. It is not definate that the EcoBulbs will benefit New Zealand so I think that there isn't much point in going through the hassle of changing light fittings and finding ways to dispose of toxic waste if there isn't even a 100% chance of the EcoBulbs helping New Zealand.

This is the EcoBulb or Compact Fluorescent Lamp which will be used from the end of 2009.

This is the incandescent light bulb which most New Zealanders use now. They will become illegal to import at the end of 2009.

After the election this year, Labour (Helen Clark) may not still be in power. There is a chance that National (John Key) will win. The banning of incandescent ligh bulbs bill will still go through but could be changed if National is in power.

MiCrOwAvE FUDGE !! =O

This is the recipe for the best tasting fudge I have ever eaten. Its delicious and extremely easy to make ! It is caramal fudge but its not like all chewy and sticky and gross. It's crumbly, smooth and it melts in your mouth.

Most people find one or two pieces really rich and sickly, but it takes at least six or seven for me to even start feeling slightly sick.

>> i N g R e D i E n T s <<

- 1 Tin of Condensed Milk...

- 100g of Margerine...

- 1 Tsp Vanilla Essence...

- 1/2 Tsp Vinegar...

- 2 Cups Sugar...

>> M e T h O d <<

Mix together condensed milk, sugar and margarine in a large microwave proof bowl. Once combined, place bowl in microwave for 10minutes on high, stopping every two minutes to stir.

Make sure to keep an eye on the mixture as it sometimes tends to bubble over the bowl. If this happens then just stop the microwave for afew seconds and let the mixture cool down then continue.

After the ten minutes is up, quickly remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in vinegar and vanilla essence.

Pour into a well greased cake tin.

Cool down and cut into squares.

Store the fudge in the fridge and cover completely with glad wrap.

! >R a i n b o w s E n d< !

On Sunday me and three other people whos names I shall not mention went to Rainbows End for the day.

We first arrived there about 15 minutes after it opened. We got our Rainbows End wrist band things and after the lady bit Bree's off and got her a new one we were free to go on the rides. We all agreed that we should go on the roller coaster first...

When we arrived at the roller coaster, there was nobody in line so we had first choice of seats. All of us hadn't been to Rainbows End in years so we were all pretty scared to start off with but we buckled ourselves into the seats and as the roller coaster began to move, there was no going back.

After screaming literally the whole way round, we decided to go again ! Since there was nobody in line we just stayed in our seats instead of going around. After about half an hour had passed, we had gone around 11 times!! One in which we sang the national anthem all the way. We all felt a bit sick so we thought it would be a good idea to go on the POWER SURGE !

After two rounds of that we realised that it wasn't the brightest idea so we chose to go on the peaceful Log Flume. Which wasn't so peaceful because we rocked the log.

Later on, after seeing the new SpongeBob Movie on the Motion Master, nearly throwing up on the Pirate Ship, getting soaked on the Bumper Boats, and going on every single ride except the Fear Fall, we decided to go on the Fear Fall. Courtney and Cerise went first because me and Bree felt too "sick." After about 8 goes they dragged us on. We were both terrified and when we were strapped in Bree decided to grab the instructers sleeve. I had to pull her off because she wouldn't let go.

Just like the Roller Coaster, after we went once, we went again and again and again.







This is me and Bree on the Log Flume while Courtney and Cerise were on the Power Surge again. We felt too sick to go on it again so we took a relaxing ride on the Log Flume instead.

This is me and Bree on the Fear Fall..

What Would You Do Without MICROWAVES !?!

Microwaves are found in most households in New Zealand and are used everyday to cook, bake, defrost or simply warm up food.

What would you do without a microwave ?!
-Firstly, you wouldn't be able to simply heat any food up. You would have to wait ages and put it in the oven which would only work with some foods.
- If you needed to quickly defrost any meat or bread, without a microwave the least amount of time it would take would be about 2-8 hours depending on what food it is.
-For things like making noodles and heating up spaghetti, you would have to cook them on the stove in a pot which would take about 3 times as long.
- Although most baking is done in the oven, more modern day recipes are made in the microwave. Without a microwave you would always have to bake using the oven and you would not be able to bake any microwave recipes.

Life without a microwave would SUCK !

Personally I would not be able to live without a microwave. I use it probably 3 or 4 times a day.
- Firstly I use it in the morning to make hot chocolates and to heat up my toast.
- I then use it when I come home to either make noodles or a melted cheese wrap.
- I then also use it half way through dinner to heat it up because it usually gets cold.

Microwaves used for food was discovered by Percy Spencer while building magnetrons for radar sets. It was discovered like most technology; by accident. While he was working on an active radar set, he noticed that his chocolate bar began to melt. The radar had melted the candy bar with microwaves.
The first food that was intended to be cooked by a microwave was popcorn. Ever since the success of cooking popcorn using microwaves, the microwave has become an everyday appliance.

Why Do Giraffes Have Such Long Necks !?

While most people think giraffes have long necks to reach food in trees which are high up, scientists believe that their long necks have more to do with fighting. Most of the food that giraffes eat is found in low shrubs or bushes which shows that the purpose of the giraffes meck is not for getting food.

Scientists are still unsure of the exact reason for giraffes extremely long necks but the rough idea they do have is that it is used for fighting. Having a long neck is an advantage to a giraffe that no other animal has.

M o R e - A b O u T - G i R a F f E s

Giraffes are the tallest mammels on earth. Some of the tallest males stand up to 19 feet high ! On average they weigh 1,200 - 4,200 pounds but amazingly still manage to run at a speed of 35 miles per hour. They have seven bones in thier neck; the same amount as we do.

Giraffes can be found in grasslands, savannas, open woodlands and of course, zoos.

F a C t S

- Giraffes only sleep for 10minutes to two hours a day ! The shortest period of sleep of all mammals.

- A giraffes tomgue is approximately 45 cm long which is helpful because they use it to clean bugs off thier faces.

- It has recently been discovered that one way of communication between giraffes is infrasound. Infrasound is a sound frequency that is too low to be heard by humans.

- Giraffes have a high risk of being struck by lightening because of their height. This risk is only in zoos because lightening rarely strikes out in the giraffes natural habitat.

$$ .P.e.t.r.o.l. P.r.i.c.e.s. $$

Unfortunately, the petrol prices in New Zealand have risen by 150% since 1999. Not that that really matters for people our age but it means we don't get lifts from our parents as much as we used to.
$2.10 for 91 Octane and $2.16 for 95 High Octane are the average petrol prices at the moment. Although these prices are already extremely high, they will continue to rise.
Reasons for this are:
~ International oil pricing is increasing.
~ Our exchange rate is decreasing so its costing us more to buy the petrol.
~ Government taxing is high.

In result of the petrol prices rising, people are using public transport when possible and are downgrading to smaller cars which use less petrol.

In the 1980s, petrol prices were below 60c. A lot has changed since then. The petrol prices have doubled in the last decade.

Although the rising if petrol prices is a bad thing, some people are seeing the posivtive side to things. They are seeing it as a step forward to a cleaner environment. The higher the petrol prices become, the higher the demand is for alternative energy cars. The energy cars do not harm the environment and are cheap to run. The only problem is, New Zealand cannot afford to import millions of these vehicles as they are extremely expensive.

Developed Nations Have A Responsability To Help Developing Nations?

Developed Nations Have A Responsability To Help Developing Nations? In my opinion, yes.
Developing countries or nations are never going to get themselves out of poverty and improve living standards for themselves. They earn very little money which is neede for everyday things like food and water which results in it being spent almost instantly. There is no way of saving because they do not earn enough. How are they supposed to work themselves out of poverty with no help whatsoever when they need to be able to pay for things like proper schooling and education for all children, a sufficient amout of food, clean water, medicine and medical facilities and extra money on top of all that for things like housing, fees, food and water?

Developed nations need to help. They need to take some responsibility for developing nations. Not in ways where they take over the developing countries and provide them with exactly what they need. In ways where the developed nations provide small things for the developing countries so that they can work themselves out of poverty. Things like second hand clothing, all types of donations, aid workers, trees, wells etc will all help.

Some responsability for developing nations is taken on now. Things like World Vision set up places in parts of developng nations that need the most help. They do small things for people in extreme poverty such as, repair houses, set up small businesses for young and poor families and things like that. All of these things provide opportunites for the population of developing nations to better themselves; with a small business set up for a family, they have the opportunity to earn a reasonable amount of money to care for their families.

So in conclusion, it is not fully up to developed nations to have full responsibility for developing nations but they should be responsible for helping.
Developed nations would not be harmed in any way by helping developing nations work themselves out of poverty so in my opinion I think they should be responsible for doing that.

2008 Beijing Olympics ! And the history of the Olympics

Only 57 days to go until the 2008 Beijing Olympics !! China has been preparing for these Olympics for 7 years !!

At the moment, there is a total of 35 different sports and more than 400 events that take place in the Olympic games.
In the last Olympic Games which were held in Athens in 2004, the mascots were Athena and Phevos. The mascots for this year have not yet been decided.

History Of The Olympics >>

The Olympics first began in Greece. It is believed by the ancient Greeks that Zeus started the games to celebrate victory over his father. It is impossible to find out the exact date of when the Olympics began but alot of historians state that the first Olympian Winner was around 776BC which gives a rough idea of when the games began. The first type of Olympic race was a footrace. Over time, footraces were extended and lengths of races began to vary. New events were also introduced into the games such as chariot racing and weightlifting.
Strictly only men were allowed to compete in the games. No woman were allowed to compete let alone attend the games. The consequences resulted in death.
Unlike today, the winners of the games did not recieve medals. They were each presented with a crown made from olive leaves. As well as getting a crown, the winners recieved many privilages after winning the games. Winners were treated as celebritys by their home town, their meals were bought at public expense, private facilities were sometimes built for victors and many other general privilages were given out.

The Olympics Today Compared To The Olympics Back Then >>

Back then, the athletes who competed in the games were all men. There were not many men who competed and they were all Greek. The Olympics wasn't a competition between countries, it was between men from the same country. There were also nowhere near as many events as there are today.
Because the Olympics was not a world wide event back then, they were held in the same location each year in a place called Olympia, Greece.

The Five Olympis Rings >>

The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913 and first appeared in the 1920 Olympics. The coloured rings represent the five continents of the world all linked with eachother because the event of the Olympics brings all of those continents together.

Z e B r A s !

Zebras are part of the Equidae family which is the family of horse like animals. They are native to Eastern, Southern and SouthWestern parts of Africa. The Zebra have a very distinct appearence and are not often confused with other animals. This is because of their bold black and white stripes. It is said that the Zebra is balck with white stripes but nobody really knows. The average Zebra weighs about 300kg, is about 1.5m high and is 2.3m long. The Zebras main is not long and does not hang down like the horse's does, it stands up in a mohawk.

Zebras unlike horses, are not made for races, riding or shows. Attempts have been made to train the Zebra but the animals nature is more unpredictable than the horse's. Zebras also tend to panic under stress and are too wild to even ride.

They can be found in a variety of habitats such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains and coastal hills.

Zebras have exceedingly good eyesight. Probably as good as most humans. Unlike most animals, the Zebra can see colour. Having their eyes on the sides of their head allows them to have a wide feild of view. They also have night vision which gives them the ability to see in a dark environment.

Having good eyesight benefits the Zebra when escaping from predators. Another thing that helps the Zebra to run away from predators is their natural instinct to run in a zig zag. This makes it much harder for the Zebra to be chased. If the Zebra is cornered, it will either bite or kick.

Zebras feed mainly on grasses but also eat shrubs, herbs, twigs leaves and bark. They are herbivores and do not eat any meat. Zebras do not eat precise meals each day, they just constantly graze throughout the day.

F A C T S >>
>A Zebras mood is often told by the position of its ears.
>Zebras sleep standing up.
>They can run 35 miles per hour.
>Zebras communicate with eachother using high pitched bark like sounds.
>The average life span of a Zebra is 20 - 30 years.

The Malawian Food Crisis..

Malawi is a small third world country in Africa and it is rated one of the least developed countries in the world.
Over in Malawi at the moment there is a crisis going on. This is known as The Malawian Food Cirsis.

The Malawi Food Crisis is an on going severe lack of access to food. The cause of the lack of food is due to a drought. The drought results in obviously there being no rain fall which means no water. No water means that the country is unable to produce many, if any crops. This is also affecting the country's exports which then leads to no money. All of this is becoming a huge problem in Malawi.
The Malawian Leader states that it is a national crisis and it is worsening. He also stated that the country needs more help as the crisis is hugely affecting the lives of their people.
There are approximately 46,000 malnurished children living in Malawi at the moment. Malnutrition is the lack of sufficient nutrients that a person consumes. It is often seen in developing nations such as Malawi.

For those few in Malawi who are lucky enough to have the luxery of a sufficient amount of food to eat, this is a bit about how Malawians cook and eat their food..

Malawians cook their food mostly over wood fires using a tripod made of stones. They eat all of their food with their hands and no type of cutlery exists to them.
The most common type if food eaten in Malawi is called Nsima. Nsima is a thick gluggy porridge like substance which is often moulded into patties and eaten with beans.

CHUCK TAYLORS ! ! =D

I went to the Otara flee markets to buy some CHUCK TAYLORS for 20c ! What a bargain ow whahaha ! But I can't wear them ow because my tum sags down to my legs.. ((COPYRIGHTED))

Just thought Id get that out of my system before I started writing this blog. That saying was created by CERASH. (Cerise & Tash).



HISTORY...

Chuck Taylors, more commonly known as Chucks were first created in 1917 as the "All Star" for the basketball shoe market. They were not a great success until the famous basketball player Chuck Taylor adopted them as his preferred shoe. Extremely impressed ny the shoes design, he became the offical leading salesman for it.



Before 1966, Chuck Taylors were being made in a variety of colours and materials. Low and high cut versions were also becoming available.



Chuck Taylor died in 1969 but was and still continues to be remembered today.



ABOUT CHUCKS...

Chucks are made from rubber and canvas and are available in many different colours to purchase for about $50 NZD each.

The Future ?

In class, our assesment is creative writing. Our task is to write a story about the future of * * * * * . When you first think of the future you think modern buildings, hovering cars, shiny silver clothing, complex gadgets etc. But then if you think about it more, at the rate our world is going, it could be completely destroyed. Our world could just keep gradually changing before our eyes of something major could happen which could change everything.

When will our world end? Will it just keep going forever? Who knows, in some amount of years time, our lives could change dramatically. Nobody knows what is going to happen. We cannot predict the future. Sure, psycics can read your palm and people can report the weather before it happens but nobody can predict what our world will be like in many years time.
Global warming could take over, a major war could break out, there could be some sort of apocalypse, a meteorite could collide with our earth.... Anything is possible.

Think of the past. When no technology extisted. Nobody back then was aware that in the future you would be able to flick a switch and there would be light. Alot can change in this world over time which makes it almost impossible to know what we will be able to do in the future.

QuEsTiOns...

If you think about it, there are a million questions about life. Not just little questions like career choices and things like that. Bigger questions. Big questions. Not necessarily long questions but questions like, "Why are we here?" "What is our purpose?"
Some people believe in God. But there are hundreds of different religions out there and every single one believes on their own God. How can you know the one you believe in really exists? Each religion have their own reasons and explanation for how we came to be on this earth and all of them could be possible.
There are some people who don't believe in God. They believe in evolution or science. People may think they know the exact reason to how we became on this earth but the truth is nobody really knows.

And what about the planets and the solar system? Surely space doesn't just go on forever and ever? There must be other life out there somewhere? Earth can't be the only inhabited place...

The stuff we have found out about this world is pretty amazing. Scientific stuff like particles of matter and the solar system and things like that. Although we have found out an incredible amount, its probably only a tiny fraction of whats left to be discovered.

You never know, life could be like the movie "The Trueman Show" where this mans whole life is a lie. He lives in a giant dome amongst actors who he is lead to believe are his friends and family. His whole life is planned out and on camera and is constantly being broadcasted to the real world.
Imagine finding that out. That the entire world had watched every second of your life, that the people you have come to love were all acting and that your whole life was a set up just for a show.

Nobody knows why we are here and probably won't find out in the near future. They probably won't ever find out.

Also, more questions. What happens when we die? There are also many different beliefs for that as well but nobody knows for sure. Do we just die and go to sleep forever? Or do we come back and live a different life of say an animal or something? But of course if we did, we wouldn't remember our previous life.
Or do we go to another place when we die? Heaven? Hell?
I think that that is something that won't ever be found out for sure. There are and will be many theories but none of which can be proved.

These are just some of the big questions in life that are most likely to be left undiscovered.

Creative Writing - Best Reliever We Could Have ..

The dreaded lunch bell abruptly sounded. The joyful expressions of all the 10 WILG students in sight faded at once. Science. Was what was on everybodys mind. As slowly as possible, we all walked up towards the science block.

As we arrived, to our delightful disbelief, our eyes rested upon.. a reliever ! We all flooded inside and took our seats with looks of glee on our faces. A rather plump, bald man stood in front of us. One of his eyes was squinting and he had extremely yellow teeth. He introduced himself as Mr Neede Apooh. As he was exceedingly proud of his name, he instructed us to call him by his full name as apposed to just his last name.

As the strange looks and laughter slowly began to die down, Mr Neede Apooh spoke, which in result, brought back the strange looks and laughter. He spoke in a slow slurred voice with a strange foreign accent, "Riiiight.. Todaaaay claaass vee are goiiing to gooo outside aaand haaave a paaaint fiight... Consider yourseeelves lucky because zee claaass I haaad laast veek only got to haaaave a vater fiiight."

Although he was being dead serious, the strange looks soon turned into "whatever I don't believe you" looks. They were soon proved wrong when white suits and water bombs filled with paint were handed out. We were all excited but confused at the same time.

About ten minutes later, all of us including Mr Neede Apooh were wearing white suits and were armed with paint balloons. We set off to the field so begin the fight. As you could imagine we were all shocked, we thought that it was some kind of joke.

Upon our arrival at the field, Mr Neede Apooh proceeded to explain the rules. He took a large satisfying breath and cleared his throat, " Noww.. Zee ruules.. NO RULES !" He siezed a paint balloon and through it directly at us! By now we realised that this was obviously not a joke so we all began to collect and throw paint balloons.

What felt hours later, all of the paint balls had run out and we were all sitting around catching our breath. I felt an obsurd feeling at the back of my head.. As if somebody was tapping me..

All of a sudden I woke up with a jerk. I slowly peeled my cheek of the desk revealing a large pool of dribble. Confused, I realised that I had fallen asleep in class! And as if that wasn't bad enough, one at a time people began laughing and pointing at the puddle of drool on the desk. I felt my face grow red and the only thing I could do was laugh.. Even though nothing seemed funny to me right at that moment, I had no idea what else to do.