Creating My Car

The task given was to create a car that works solely by gravity. After creating sturdy and efficient cars, we will race the cars down wooden ramps. When creating this car, I had to rememer to keep a sleek shape, a good amount of weight, smooth and round wheels, and a neat design. Throughout the process, I faced countless obstacles and spent several hours. I had a great blueprint including all the neccesary components, but creating the car was not a simple as I thought. The materials I had were the following: a plastic bottle, cardboard, woodglue, paper, colored pencils, CDs, a small box, and thread rolls. A major problem I faced was attatching the wheels to an axle and attatching the axle to the body.Originally, I spent three hours trying to attatch CDs to a pencil. However, this was a difficult task because the wholes in the cds were much larger than the axle. As a result, the wheels were not stable. Because of this failure, I decided to use thread rolls instead. The whole in the thread rolls was the perfect size for a straw to fit through.
For the body, I originally utilized a large, green, and transperent soda bottle. I was planning to use the soda bottle because it had a sleek shape, a cool color, and I could fill it with liquids or solids to make my car heavier. The weight would cause gravity to have more impact on the car. However, when I added water to make the car heavier, the car was off balance and started tipping. Without the water, the car began skidding. As a result, I replaced the bottle with a box that was heavier, sturdy, and very pretty. In order to make the car heavier, I added clay sculptures which would add detail as well as a little weight. When I tested the final car, it worked great. After all those failures, I finally made a car I am proud of!

How does our brain work?

"If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn't.”
~Emerson M. Pugh



Even with the stunning technology scientists own in the 21st century, the brain remains to be the most complex and mystifying machine known to humans.



What does each part of the brain do?
-The frontal lobe is a part of the cerebral cortex in the brain. This part of the brain effects our reasoning. planning, problem solving, emotions, parts of speech and movement.
-The second major division in the cerebral cortex is the parietal lobe. This part of the brain processes sensory information such as touch, temperature, or pain. Our thought process also takes place in this portion of the brain.
-The occipital lobe is the third major division in the cerebral cortex. It functions to process visual information.
-Lastly, there is the temporal lobe. This major division controls hearing, memory, and learning.
-The cerebellum helps us maintain balance and posture.
-The brain stem controls several basic actions. For instance, breathing, sleeping, eating, heart beat, and blood pressure.

Mysteries of the Mind
According to livescience these are the top 9 mysteries that perplex scientists about the brain.

1) Consciousness: Your consciouness is your awarness and the sensations or your surrounding. This simple act has become a brainteaser for scientists.
2)Deep Freeze: Scientists believe that the body and the brain can be thawed and revived in the future. However, so far this is not possible.
3) Why do humans age?
4)Are thoughts and personalities controlled by genes or the enviornment?
5)Why in the world to we laugh? (HAHA~ I never quite understood that either!)
6)Why are some memories hard to forget? (With research, scientists found out that the hippocampus is resposible for storing memory.)
7)How are "phantom feelings" caused? "Phantom limb" is an anomaly which causes one to feel warmth, pressure, itching, or pain due to a mssing limb. Scientists have two theories as to why this occurs; however, they are not sure.
8)Why do we sleep? Why is sleep a crucial aspect in life?
9)Why do we dream?

websites I used
http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bfrontal.shtml
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/lobe.html
www.livescience.com

Lab Report: Soaring Straws

Potential energy is the stored energy that results from the position or shape of an object. Gravitational potential energy depends on the height of an object where as elastic energy is the energy of stretched or compressed objects. As I look at the shape of my graph, I can conclude that if the elastic potential energy (or the stretch) increases, the gravitational potential energy increases aswell. For instance, when we stretched the rubberband four centimeters, the GPE of the rocket was about 22mJ. However, when we stretched the rubberband seven centimeters, the GPE was 40mJ (according to the graph). I realized that stretching the rubberband farther will increase the elastic potential energy and the rocket also travels further. In addition, the lines on the graph also increased at a steady or close to steady rate.

There are many ways to avoid errors in the data collection and enhance the lab. Many variables effected our final data and conclusion. For instance, we kept changing rubber bands when they snapped, and it also loosened as we were shooting rockets. Moreover, the shooters kept changing in order to give everyone a turn. In addition, the rockets soared pretty fast and it was hard to figure out its exact height. Furthermore, someone may have even switched rockets because we used the same launchers and rockets for each class. In order to enhance this lab, we should use sensors rather than estimation to decipher the height and do some more trials to make sure the data is accurate. With the lack of supplies we were obligated to share launchers, but keeping the same launcher with the same conditions will also enhance the lab. Another way to preserve the launchers is to make them of a sturdier material such as plastic or metal. In this way, we can ensure that our results are accurate.

Toothpick Fish

The Toothpick Fish Lab was an exciting lab which allowed students to experiment with genes and the environment with toothpicks. The eight toothpicks all represent three different colored fish. We formed a gene by randomly picking two alleles from a "gene pool".

Green Allele (G) -Dominant to all other alleles
Red Allele (r) -Recessive to G and incompletely dominant to yellow*
Yellow allele (y) -Recessive to G and incompletely dominant to red*
The possible results for the phenotype and genotype are listed below.

Green- GG, Gr, Gy
Red- rr
Yellow- yy
Orange- ry

According to all the possible genotypes and phenotypes, two red fish can not mate and have a green offspring. If two red fish mate, then the offspring's phenotype would be 100% red. On the other hand, if two orange fish mate they can have a red offspring. The chances of having a red offspring with this particular genetic cross is 25% red. It is also possible for two green fish to mate and have an orange offspring. In the case the genotypes would need to be Gr and Gy. The recessive allele could be passed down to the second generation.

We started this lab by making a first generation of fish. In order to do this, we pulled out pairs of genes (without looking) and set them aside. After drawing all the genes, we recorded them in our table (shown above). After completing this, the lab told us that the fish live in a very lush and green stream with lots of seaweed and algae. As a result, the green fish are able to camouflage very well into their ecosystem. However, the yellow fish are eaten very quickly and are unable to reproduce. Therefore, all the yellow fish, yy, do not survive. Then, we repeated the same process for the second and third generation (making sure to remove all yellow offspring). At the end of the third generation, only two yellow alleles had remained. After the third generation, there were only nine fish remaining even though we started of with twelve fish. However, this would not happen in the wild because even if the fish were being eaten, they would still continue to reproduce. We repeated this process once again for the forth generation; however, this time we did not remove the yellow fish. This is because the lab informed us that harmful factory waste was recently dumped into the stream, killing majority of the seaweed and algae. This benefits the red, yellow, and orange fish because rocks and sand provide good camouflage. This time all the green fish are eaten. As a result of this environmental disaster, the population has drastically changed. This left us with only three survivors. When the environment was hostile to them, the green alleles disappeared faster than any other color. Due to the fact that "G" was the dominant allele, any genotype with "G" was eaten. Throughout the lab green was the most prevalent color. When the disaster occurred, all the green fish died. Hence, majority of the population.

The toothpick fish lab showed us how the fish populations changed because of environmental issues. Throughout the lab, we were able to see how the genotypes and phenotypes changed with the environment. This is a clear example of natural selection. Natural selection is a process in which characteristics that make an individual better suited to its environment becomes more common in species.

Changes such as these are also evident in real populations. For example, global warming is adding strength the the El Niño events. Scientist ran many tests to see if the El Niño, from 1997-1998, altered the genetic makeup of Galápagos marine iguana populations. Turns out that the El Niño has much more to it than I thought. If you'd like to learn more on this very interesting topic, visit http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0001285.
Other environmental changes such as an ice age, oil spill, forest fire, global warming, and much more can have a vivid impact on ecosystems and the genetic composition of animals.

Music for Young Minds ♫

♫ In the 21st century, many children have been introduced to the art of music at a very tender age, and research shows that music at an early age may actually improve brain function. Music is a gratifying activity which calms many people when they are stressed and also boosts mental abilities. Researchers at the Institute for Music and the Mind at McMaster University organized a test which would compare preschoolers who had taken music lessons with those who had not. According to this expirament, musical training at an early age seemed to help the brain's aauditory cortex. They also say that changes in memory and learning ability were witnessed.
Research continued in Ohio State University showed that music does not necessarily have to improve IQ and test scores; however, their research does support the fact that music stimulates responses in the auditory cortex of the brain. This subject could bring up controversy because there are many factors which affects a childs learning ability. However, there is no doubt that music does stimulate the brain and has positive affects regarding judgment, and reasoning.♫

♫My thoughts on the matter...♫

As a child who was braught up drowned in music, I find that music is always a place to escape and find peace. I started singing at the age of three and play the piano, flute, and harmonium. Most children in our district are given the choice of playing an instrument and most children do. Over the years, I do feel like music has helped me conentrate and focus. When we play in band, we have to listen to other instruments so we dont overplay, and in choir we have to blend our voice with those around us. Without noticing we are doing so many things at once. We are reading the music, analyzing it, playing it on our instrument, focusing on what the teacher is conducting, and listen to the intruments around us. All of this trains our minds and stimulates brain activity. I also noticed that even though early morning band required us to wake early, I felt more attentive throughout the day. However this may only affect me personally, but you never know!♫

article
http://www.livescience.com/health/091106-isns-music-brain.html

image
http://www.newswise.com/images/uploads/2009/04/24/fullsize/Brain_Waves.jpg

Green 'Ark'

Alexander Remizov, a Russian architect, has created a protype design that may just be extremely beneficial to our future and society. This building takes on the shape of a slinky and is said to be constructed very quickly and efficiantly. Further more, this new structure has the ability to adapt to many different kinds of enviornments and can be used for countless reasons. Remizov also wants this building to be enviornmentaly friendly. Therefore, "he says that he took a holistic approach to the problems of providing power to The Ark, working with colleague Lev Britvin on energy solutions to keep it in balance with the environment"(Cnn.com). First of all, there is a wind power generator that runs through the center of the building which is an efficiant way for obtaining energy. In addition, there will be transparent solar panels, covering the outer surface, which will also be an efficient way to produce energy. Lastly, if the Ark is built on water, Remizov is also intending to utilize thermal energy to power the building. Remizov believes that this structure would be able to house 50-10,000 people and still remain an energy efficient building. Another bebefit to this building would be that construction would become cheaper, and the transperent roof would allow us to grow plants inside the building. This new idea just may be a part of our future. If this building becomes a reality, many people's lives will be affected, and we may just be able to reduce the effects of Global Warming by reducing the use of green house gases. Every little step counts!

Pros:
-green and energy efficient enviornment
-shape can withstand against tidal waves and natural disasters
-transparent windows reduce need for lighting
-(All aboard the Ark Hotel! Giant biosphere is a 'self-contained haven' in event of climate change flood disaster)



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1345738/Ark-Hotel-Remistudio-biosphere-self-contained-haven-event-flood-disaster.html#ixzz1Ah298dlR

Works Cited

"Ark Hotel: Remistudio biosphere is a 'self-contained haven' in event of flood disaster Mail Online." Home Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. .

"Green 'Ark' could house 10,000 -- and looks like a Slinky! - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. .

image from...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/01/floating-slinky-hotel-to-survive-world-or-rising-seas.php

For More Information Visit...

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/world/14960-green-ark-could-house-10000-and-looks-like-a-slinky.html

New Website!!!!

savethegreatswamp.webs.com
on The Great Swamp of NJ

Black Holes

This video may do a better job at explaining black holes than I do. I watched the entire video with my brother and it is actually quite interesting even though it seems long.

Earlier today, when I was having an analytical conversation with my father, I started pondering the topic of black holes. There was a recent article on Yahoo titled "Baby photos from the ultimate edge — a black hole." According to this article, a nearby star exploded into a supernova in 1979, and scientists now believe that a black hole is developing due to the fact that debris and gassy remnants left behind from the exploded star, are being sucked out of sight. This article also says that in the past 30 years, this black hole has devoured about as much as the Earth's mass! This really took me by surprise. According to the entire universe and space, this is probably a very small ratio. However, in my eyes this would be a little baby eating an entire Thanksgiving meal by himself. This black hole is said to be 50 million light years away from the earth and is five times the size of our sun. The star that gave birth to this black hole was about 20 times larger than our sun! This greedy black hole is gorging up as much as it can, and leaving scientists to believe that discovery is most probably a black hole.

This article intrigued and i wanted to learn some more research on black hole. To start with, what are black wholes? This was the first question I had to ask myself.

Information on black holes is very confined however there are several theories on what black holes are. We believe that black holes are created when a red super giant star collapses. Black holes are colossal areas of compiled mass with an unyielding gravitational force which prevent anything around it from passing. Unfortunately, there is not much proven information on black holes and it is a conundrum that is taking the best of my curiosity.

I was very provoked by how vague the information available on black holes was. I will add to this post as I continue exploring the obscurity behind black holes.

Websites I used

http://www.space.com/blackholes/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101115/ap_on_sc/us_sci_baby_black_hole_3

Baby owl regurgitating an Owl Pellet

I found this video on youtube and you can clearly see the owl pellet. Sorry about all the extra noises that are heard in the background, but the quality of the video is awsome!

The Sun: Pros & Cons

(This blog post is based on the article
Catch 22: "People Who Aviod the Sun Lack Vitamin D" by Christopher Wanjek.
http://www.livescience.com/health/sun-exposure-vitamin-d-deficiency-101018.htmlcience.com/health/sun-exposure-vitamin-d-deficiency-101018.html)

In a recent study, doctors advised patients, who were inclined to developing skin cancer, to stay out of the sun and put sun-screen on whenever they were exposed to the sun. As a result, this group had drastically lower levels of vitamin D than another controlled group in the study. This shows that avoiding and being overprotective from the sun, results in lower levels of vitamin D. This could result in illnesses like bone fractures, heart disease, and other forms of cancers. On the other hand, unsafe exposure to the sun can also cause skin cancer.
Now this can be a perplexing situation. If you have fair skin, then you should avoid too much exposure to the sun. However, if you are going to turn away from the sun, then you have to make sure you are recieving a healthy amount of vitamin D in your diet or through supplementation. This can become a convoluted situation because there are not many foods which provide vitamin D. According to livescience.com, "no one is can determine the precise dividing line between healthy and dangerous sun exposure."

Foods that provide a source of vitamin D

Hidden Ecology in the Holiday House

Some may wonder how a book like "The Thief of Always," connects to ecology. As we all know, every little thing in this world is somehow connected to science, and if we carefully look for clues in the text, we may find simple imstances that connect to ecology.

In "The Thief of Always," Harvey is a young boy who is bored of his life. February seems to be a lifeless and insipid month with a never ending mass of dark, dismal skies. Harvey is desperate to go to a place of excitement where the sun is always shining and everyday is exhilarating. This all changes when Rictus, a minion from the Holiday House, comes to Harvey's rescue. Harvey is taken to the Holiday House, a rapturous house filled with surprises, mysteries, and illusions. This unprecentented house has all four seasons in a period of which we infer is twenty-four hours.

The seasons that take place at the holiday house all connect to ecology as well as all the foods that the boys are devouring delightfuly.

In the morning, when Harvey wakes up, buds are sprouting on the trees and the aroma of sweet flowers tickle Harvey's sences. By high noon, the sun is high in the sky and the heat is overwhelming. By supper, the withered leaves have fallen and you can feel the scrunch underneath your feet. As Harvey prepares for his bed, he is pleasantly welcomed by winter. A soft blanket of snow covers the Holiday House as Harvey drifts into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Obviously, we all know that this isn't known to be possible in real life. However, the changes in seasons and Harvey's interactions with his enviornment does relate to ecology.

Ecology is "the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their enviornment, including other organisms"(http://www.dictionary.com/). In this book, we see how Harvey reacts, adapts, and changes according to his enviornment. The seasons cause him to change his clothing and eat different types of food. For instance, at night, when it's winter, Harvey and Wendell bundle up in warm clothes and eat hot foods. Where as during lunch, Mrs. Griffin, the cook, probably fed them something refreshing which kept them cool from the hot summer sun. This is how humans adapt to their enviornment. When Harvey and Wendell eat meat and vegetables, they are also part of the global foodweb. In addition, all the characters, such as Rictus and Jive, have roles and jobs that they are obliged to do for Mr. Hood. This is like the Nich of an organism in the eco-system. Lastly, the aberrent fish in the mysterious lake is a population of kids. Population is also another term which connects to ecology. Population is the number of organisms in an area. In this case, it is the population of fish in the lake.

Who knew that our lit. book could connect to ecology in so many ways!!! :)

Symbiotic Relation

Symbiosis a a close relation between to organisms which is beneficial to atleast one of the organisms. The three different types of symbiotic relations are mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Mutualism is a relation in which both species benefit. Commensalism is when only one of the species benefits however, the other organism is neither harmed nor helped. Lastly, parasitism is when an organism lives in or on an other sprganism and the other organism is harmed.
The picture on the right is some poison ivy I found on a tree, in my backyard. (Remember, "Raggy rope, Don't be a dope!"). Poison ivy is an example of a mutualistic relationship. For example, poison ivy is a defense mechanism for a plant or tree because it drives away predators. In turn, the poison ivy feeds on the tree and recieves nutrients.

Biotic Limiting Factor

The picture above is a biotic limiting factor found in my community. I will comment to the name of this plant once I find out. This plant is a living factor because during the summer, there are flowers which are pollinated by bees and other insects. The leaves are also eaten by other animals such as deer. In addition, the plant is home to populations of insects, bugs, and worms in the soil. Plants also needs several abiotic factors to survive. For instanse it needs, oxygen, water, sunlight, a proper temperature, and soil. These are the only five natural abiotic factors that exsist in this entire world.

Toby The Tonado!!!

NEW WEBSITE!!!!!!

Visit our new tornado website!!!! Here is the link!!!
http://tornado4me.webs.com
It's all about tornadoes!!! Still in process of making so we might add other storms!

Lit. Poems

(The two poems I chose are the character poem and the diamante poem. I just wrote the color poem for fun.)

"Words or No Words"

Words

Strong, powerful

Daring, soothing, sharing

Deep, risky, safe, empty

Boring, relieving, hoping

Hollow, quiet

Silence

"Colors of Liesel's Life"

Death is a black,

Where as, silence is clear;

Out of the basements,

All the hearts are filled with fear.

The Champagn is yellow,

And the bread is stale brown;

The Jews are starving with hunger

While the mayor eats more than the town.

The sky was light blue,

The clouds were puffy white;

Death came to take Liesel

She enjoyed her last night

"One Tough Tree"

Liesel Meminger

Strong, kind, and troubled

Who loves to cuddle with a book

Who needs to know that Max is alive

Who shares her words

Who fears the death of her loved ones

Who'd like to see Rudy kiss her

Who dreams of the world being a safe place for everyone

Who ends up leaving with the tallest and strongest tree in the jungle

A recent article on Causes of Global Climate Change says that our CO2 emission, greenhouse gases, has increases and that is what is causing the climate change. According to the article, several people believe that the climate change and increase in greenhouse gases is a natural cycle. Not everyone believes it is due to anthropogenic ways

(not sure if I used the term correctly). Still, scientists are syaing there is no harming in cleaning the planet. I agree with the article that the increase in green house gases is due to human ways. The Greenhouse effect has always been taking place but it has rapidly increased during the last 50 years.

We have definetly increased our greenhouse emissions in the past fifty years. For instance, factories started, people started using cars, their was more trash to burn, etc. Therefore, I believe that the Greenhouse effect is natural and needed, but we have increased it way too much, and that is not natural!

Article: https://www.sheddingalight.org/articles/what-causes-climate-change/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=greenhouse_effect&utm_campaign=Adwords&gclid=CNr5386nkaECFYtd5Qodoiy7rg

The Collapsing Can!

Today in class, some of us did the collapsing can lab. It was a whole lot of fun! For this expirament, we needed an empty amuminum soft-drink can, a 2- or 3-liter (2- or 3-quart) saucepan, and a pair of kitchen tongs. There was a sauce pan filled with cold water on the lab table. First, we put a little water into an empty soft-drink can. We heated the can with the water on the hot pan. When the water boiled, vapor seeped through the opening in the can. We let the water boil for a while. Then, one of us took the tongs and quickly put the can upside down in the water. All of a sudden the can was crushed. The crushing of the can made me emit a frightening shriek. After the lab, I was left to wonder, why did this happen? I looked through my notes and discussed with other people and came to this concusion. I knew this lab was all about air pressure, so that gave me a start to my conclusion. When we heated the can with boiling water and placed it upsidedown into the cold water, there was a drastic change in temperature. The water vapor left the can and into the cool water because there is more room and less energy. The outside air pressure was then strong enough to crush the can because there was nothing inside the can. This lab relates to the Charles and Boyles law which we learned in chemistry.
Boyles Law: -When the pressure of a gas increases at a constant temperature, the volume of the gas decreases. -When the preasure is decreased the volume increases.
Charles Law: -When the temperature of a gas increases at a constant pressure, it's volume increases. -When the temperature of gas decreases the volume decreases
(from my notebook-class notes)
When the can was suddenly put into cold water it volume decreased because of the pressure around it.

This Collapsing Can lab was a lot of fun and I would mind doing it over, and over, and over, and over, and over AGAIN!!!

Vicious Volcanoes

Volcanoes are mountains which have an opening, or rupture, which allows magma and other gases to escape out from within the earth. Volcanoes form when the plates that make up the earth's crust move. The friction between the plates create enough energy to melt the rock anc form a volcano. A volcano eruption occurs when magma, from the earth's mantle pushes its way out of the opening in the earths crust. When the magma is thin, it creates a lava flow which is not a huge explosing. However, when the lava is thick, pressure builds up inside the volcanoeo and erupts in a forceful and violent way. This can be extremely destructive. The earth's largest volcano is Moana Loa, down in Hawaii. If this volcanoe is measured from the ocean floor, it is larger than Mount Everest. The volcano, Mauna Loa, is actually what inspired me to post this blog. Over spring break, my family and I went down to Hawaii for vacation. There, we went to see volcanoes and I saw Mauna Loa from a distance. This inspired me to learn about how volcanoes work. I'll post some pictures I took of Mauna Loa. We didn't see it erupt,but could see smake rising, and we also saw a little but of lava on the surface. Wealso saw several guysers near by. Geysers are springs which erupt extremelt hot water. The volcanic heat boils the water underneath and the presure causes the geyser to explode. ( If you've ever seen a kettle explode under pressure, it's probably similar :-) All in all volcanoes are very interesing and I still have a lot to learn. As I learn more, I will continue to add to this post.

Links I Used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq7u1lw7038

Wonder Webs!!!

Ustream.tv, a website established on March 7th, 2007, allows peope from all around the world to interact and communicate with one and other. People can watch live streams, vote in different polls, chat, rate, and much, much more!
Co-founders: Brad Hunstable, Johnny Ham, & Dr. Gyula Feher

Justin.tv is a website, similar to youtube, which also enables you to watch live streaming videos, and users above the age of 18 can broadcast their own videos. Again, this may be a fun website to rome around on just to kill tme.

Facebook: Chat with your friends and family and stay in touch no matter where you are in the entire world!!!

Twitter: Allows you to create conversations, read messages, and reply with your tweets!


This is the first time I've heard of Justin.tv, but just by adventuring the website I feel like it is safer and more appropriate for children to use. Youtube sometimes takes you completely off topic of your search. In my opinion, I found Justin.tv a safer website, but then again, you never know.


Have you ever been really bored and don't know what to do? Well chances are, you probably jumped on your computer and went on to a site like Ustream.tv or facebook. So many websites similar to these have been posted on the web by people all around the world. Ustream, for instance, was founded by Brad Hunstable, Johnny Ham, and Dr. Gyula Feher. These three men had worked on a internet project earlier in 2003. Soon they wanted to be able to communicate with their friends who were in the army. Therefor, these three men startes Ustramer.tv which was available to the public in 2007. Facebook was created by four computer science stundents, Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, down in Hardvard Univercity. Now it is the most used social network world-wide. However, are these websites good for you? Do they teach you anything? Should they even be allowed? These websites are a great way to kill time and connect with close friends that you don't see often, but most of us are taking a larger advantage of these sites. For instance, we come home from school after talking to our friends the entire day and then many people go on the computer and start chatting with the same freinds! It sounds ridiculous, but it is most definetely true! That is why sever countries such as China, Syria, Vietnam, and Iran have banned facebook to prevent employes from wasting time using these addicting services. These websites are privledges, but they should not be overused, which they are. Overusing them would only cause negative effects like your grade dropping or employes being fired!

SAFETY?

You also have to remember that if you are not cautious of who you are interacting with on these websites, then these websites could possibly be very harmful. Never talk to strangers, post private information, or pictures of yourself for the whole world to see.

As long as you keep yourself safe and use the privledge sagely these websites are a BLAST!!!

SOME MORE SITES!!!

http://www.facebook.com/

http://www.myspace.com/

http://www.ustream.tv/

http://twitter.com/

http://www.justin.tv/

http://www.friendster.com/

http://www.hi5.com/

http://www.bebo.com/

WOULDN'T TRUST THEM ALL IF I WERE U!!!

Links I used:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustream

http://www.similarsites.com/sites-like/ustream.com

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4ACAW_enUS312US312&defl=en&q=define:twitter&ei=g3e2S-q1OsHflgfDsLmCAQ&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAsQkAE

http://www.similarsites.com/sites-like/facebook.com

Want to learn more?

http://larry50.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/websites-like-facebook/

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-stay-safe-on-facebook

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7042.pdf