Gay Rights Cont.

There are many stereotypes being held against homosexuals. One of largest is that if they become parents, they will affect the psychosocial development of the child. This in fact is not true based on studies that have taken place. One study from the American Physiological Association conducted by Dr. Charlotte Paterson said that, “The results of existing research comparing lesbian and gay parents to heterosexual parents and children of lesbian and gay parents to children of heterosexual parents are quite clear: Common stereotypes are not supported by the data…. In summary there is no evidence to suggest that lesbian women or gay men are unfit to be parents or psychosocial development among children of lesbian women or gay men is compromised relative to that among offspring of heterosexual parents. Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.” This proves that children raised in homosexual households are not affected solely because they are being raised by same-sex parents. Judith Stacy of New York University states that, “The family type that is best for children is one that has responsibly, committed, stable parenting.” People do not want to believe this, but in fact it is the truth. Homosexuals should not be judged or denied the right to parent, because of their sexuality.

            In many situations, gays have been discriminated against when it comes to parenting. Many have been denied the right to adopt based solely on the fact that they are gay. This is completely unfair because a good parent is one that will stick by a child and help that child no matter what. Who are we to judge their parenting abilities; just because they are gay? There are many heterosexual parents who do not care for their child and take advantage of the privilege of having a child. “At the moment, three states- Florida, Mississippi and Utah-explicitly prohibit gay couples from adopting, and a similar law is being challenged in the Arkansas courts. Twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia, on the other hand, explicitly permit such adoptions, and the remainders have imprecise language in their adoption statues. The reason most often given by opponents of single-sex adoption is that children do best with a mother and a father,” (New York Times). Many people will argue that “stable family” is one that includes a mother and a father raising a child. This is a stereotype that has brainwashed the country for centuries. What is the definition of a stable family? Every family is different just like every person is different. Everyone deserves the chance to have equal opportunities to raise a family, no matter your sexuality.

            The opinions surrounding gay rights are very dynamic. Many people argue against granting homosexuals equal rights, but in reality why should they be treated any differently than heterosexuals? You can’t help who you love and no one should constitute your feelings. Homosexuals in America should not be denied their civil rights based upon their sexuality. 

Word Count: 508

Gay Rights

Gay Rights

Throughout history, many minorities have been discriminated against. The minority in this day and age being discriminated against are homosexuals. Like African-Americans and women in the past, homosexuals are being denied their civil rights. Homosexual citizens should have the same rights as heterosexual citizens.

Marriage is arguably the most controversial civil right when talking about homosexual couples. Out of fifty states, gay marriage is only legal in six. The reason for the controversy is the religious beliefs that politicians bring into it. What ever happened to the separation of Church and State?  In the United States of America, we have the separation of Church and State. By Congress taking it upon their “duty” to decide whether or not gays can marry, they are bringing into the government, the issue of religion. Religious beliefs should not be affecting what we are deciding in Washington D.C. The government shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions about how people feel and the feelings they have inside themselves. They should be focusing on issues that really affect the country, such as war and international relations. One prime example of how politicians bring their religious beliefs into homosexual civil rights is Republican Presidential hopeful, Rick Perry. In one of his campaign commercials he states, “I am not afraid to admit I am a Christian, but you don’t have to be in the pew every Sunday to know there is something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military… Faith made America strong; we can make it strong again.” This is a prime example because it openly states that he wants to bring religion into Congress. We feel strongly that Congress should not be allowed to make decisions on how people feel. That is when the issue of gay marriage and rights comes into play. You can’t make a law restricting someone’s feelings.


Word Count: 312

Gay Marriage

If there are un adopted children  without parents in foster homes, why should we exclude a certain percentage of adopters (gays) from the adoption system. ---MIZZAY

http://www.lifelongadoptions.com/about    LifeLong Adoptions
http://www.lifelongadoptions.com/gay-lesbian-adoption

They are an adoption service that facilitates adoptions. They "work with prospective gay and lesbian parents throughout the United States; however, the adoption process varies from state to state."

"Indeed, LifeLong Adoptions is a place where each client’s individuality, beliefs, religion, ethnicity, nationality, marital status, and sexual orientation are embraced and respected."

They believe:
- every child deserves a LifeLong family.
- each Adoptive Parent should receive the highest quality of service
MAINLY - believe that couples, singles and non-traditional families all have the right to adopt.

____________________________________________________________________________

http://library.adoption.com/articles/gay-adoption.html

"New Jersey was the first state to specify that sexual orientation and marital status cannot be used to discriminate against couples who are seeking to adopt."

"According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, on September 30, 1999, 127,000 children in the public child welfare system were waiting to be adopted. The median age of children in this group was 7.7 years, and many had spent more than 36 continuous months in foster care. That same year, 46,000 children were adopted from public child welfare agencies. Some were infants. Some were teenagers. Many were Latino. Many more were white or black. Adoptive parents were equally diverse-31% were single women, 2% were single men, and 1% were unmarried couples. Among these adoptive parents were gay and lesbian individuals and partners."

"A limited number of states, however, absolutely preclude gays and lesbians from adopting. Most notable among them is Florida, where a federal judge in August upheld the state's 1977 law banning gay adoption."

____________________________________________________________________________

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/an-end-to-gay-adoption-bans/

"At the moment, three states — Florida, Mississippi and Utah — explicitly prohibit gay couples from adopting, and a similar law is being challenged in the Arkansas courts. Twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia, on the other hand, explicitly permit such adoptions, and the remainder have imprecise language in their adoption statutes. The reason most often given by opponents of single-sex adoption is that children do best with a mother and a father."

 "The University of Virginia and George Washington researchers studied preschoolers who were adopted at birth by 27 lesbian couples, 29 gay male couples and 50 heterosexual couples."
          "What did they find? That it’s the quality of the parenting that creates a psychologically healthy child, not the sexual orientation of the parents."

The Columbia Disaster

The space shuttle Columbia Disaster was a tragedy that could have been avoided, but occurred because of negligence by the engineers and NASA administration.

During the design of the space shuttles external fuel tank, one of the requirements was that the foam, which prevents icing, would not come off during launch. The foam shedding had been observed before, and did not alarm NASA Engineers at all. The foam struck a Reinforced Carbon Heat Shield panel on the left wing, and knocked it off. The next day during video review of the launch, the foam strike on the left wing was observed, but due to the low film quality, the extent of the damage could not be determined. While the Shuttle was in orbit, NASA’s Chief Thermal Protection System Engineer made a request for an astronaut to inspect the wing, but nobody ever responded. Other engineers requested that the Department of Defense image the shuttle in hopes of getting a better picture of the damage. NASA denied these requests, after they ran several simulations using damage simulating software. The results showed the possibility of damage, but they downplayed the results, claiming it exaggerates damage. As the shuttle reentered the atmosphere, it began to shed debris, and eventually broke apart and scattered debris across Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

One of the largest engineering oversights during this disaster was made by NASA management. After viewing the foam debris strike the left wing on video, they used damage prediction software to predict possible damage to the reinforced carbon-carbon shield, which alerted them of severe penetration of multiple tiles by the foam. NASA managers denied requests for astronaut inspection of the left wing from the Chief Thermal Protection System Engineer. Other NASA engineers made three separate requests for the Department of Defense to take satellite images of the shuttle while in orbit in order to get a clearer picture of the possible damages, despite these requests, NASA managers denied them, and stopped the Department of Defense from intervening.

Lessons learned from this incident included four main factors, the recency effect, conservatism, overconfidence, and selective perception. The recency effect consists of making decisions based off recent events. On previous flights, foam had been observed breaking off during liftoff, but those occasions never resulted in an accident. Therefore, NASA managers believed that this would not result in an accident either. We now know that this “recency effect” can cloud the real danger presented by the shedding of the foam. The second lesson was conservatism. It is when new information is either ignored or not given much attention. This was present when NASA managers downplayed results from the damage prediction software. The third lesson was overconfidence. NASA managers denied the need for satellite imagery of the shuttle because they were confident that there was no safety issue. The fourth lesson was a result of selective perception. The NASA management had shifted their view from an engineering focus to a management focus. They had the mindset of “better, faster, cheaper”, which forced responses to potential problems to be dominated by schedules and budgets rather than the principles of engineering and safety.

Word Count: 522

The Patriot vs. History

There are many similarities and differences between reality and the movie The Patriot. In some aspects, Hollywood did a great job replicating history exactly. But, in other areas, they could have made things more historically accurate. Despite this, The Patriot is still an all around awesome movie. It is probably in my top ten most favorite movies I have of all time.

One of the similarities between the movie and the reality is the reasons for fighting. At the beginning Benjamin Martin and his family are being mistreated by the British. Benjamin Martin (aka Mel Gibson) is loosely tied to the Continental Army Officer Francis Marion. It follows history in that South Carolina voted to support the war. They also accurately portray the British capture of Charlestown.

In the movie Colonel William Tavington (Jason Issacs) is accurately portray as the real-life Sir Banastre Tarleton. He too in real life employed ruthless tactics as shown in the movie. Guerilla warfare was also employed in the movies, a historical tactic used by the Continental Army. At the end of the movie, the war ends at the battle of Yorktown with the help of the French, just like in history.

Some of the things that are not historically accurate are usually minute details throughout the film. One big thing is the way the slaves were treated. In the movie they were treated very well, and in reality they were almost never treated this well. Another detail was the cannonballs. In the movie, they exploded on impact, in history they did not, they would simply roll and basically destroy anything in its path. Another key difference is the Laws of War in the two settings. When Colonel Tavington finds a group of wounded soldiers (both British and Colonial) on the Martin’s Porch, he orders the colonial soldiers to be shot and the house burned. In reality, this would never happen because historically, both sides obeyed the Laws of War.

Bibliography:

"The Patriot (2000 Film)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Patriot_(2000_film)>.

Word Count: 339

Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams

Jung, Woo Jin. Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams. Edina, MN: Beaver's Pond, 2004. Print. (222)

Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams is more than just an inspirational book to me. It means much more to me than any other book I have ever read. This is for two reasons, my Grandfather fought in the Korean War, and the author is my dad’s former boss. This book I could truly relate to myself unlike any other book. Woo Jin Jung’s story is one of devastating tragedies and miraculous triumphs. He proves that anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. It was because of his work, his determination to succeed, that he was able to overcome any challenge and any obstacle that came in his way. When he arrived in the United States he had just 35 dollars in his pocket. He fled Korea to get away from the war. He wanted to start a new life, one where he could be at peace, where he didn’t have to fear the ensuing North Koreans. When thinking of where he should go, he decided to move to America, the land of opportunity.

Through the practices of Tae Kwon Do, Jung is able to achieve the unachievable. This is where the book gets its name “Eastern Spirit Western Dreams”. The Eastern Spirit is the Tae Kwon Do, what he learned in Korea. The Western Dreams are the goals Jung had in America and how he achieved them.

The details of his life made this book so gripping. Some details are gruesome and horrible to think that they actually happened, but they just add to Jung’s greatness. I have never cried before while reading a book, but I did find myself tearing up while reading this. When Jung set out for America, for the land of opportunity, he completely fulfilled the term “land of opportunity”. Today Jung is an owner of numerous fitness clubs in both Iowa as well as North Carolina. He has named his chain of fitness clubs New Life Fitness World, a true testament Jung’s life. Through all of his inspiring hard work, Jung is now a multi-millionaire. I believe it is safe to say that he is living the American Dream.

Word Count: 371

Survival of the Sickest

Moalem, Sharon, and Jonathan Prince. Survival of the Sickest. 1st ed. New York: William Morrow, 2007. Print. (253)

The book Survival of the Sickest can be compared to myth busters of biology. It explores prominent diseases in today’s society and explains their history and journey through natural selection. It is a book that wonders why and asks why not. It’s about survival and creation. And it takes you on a magical medical mystery tour.

Survival of the Sickest was only possible because Dr. Moalem asked questions. This is the key to scientific discovery. You cannot assume how certain things work, or simply guess. You must break down each detail and ask how or why things work a certain way. An example from the book was when Dr. Moalem put together her grandfather’s love for giving blood with the relief it gave him. Dr. Moalem didn’t just acknowledge that this happened, he asked why it happens. Because he asked why, he was able to determine that his grandfather had a heredity condition called hemochromatosis. He didn’t stop there though, when his grandfather developed Alzheimer’s, he went even further to discover a link between hemochromatosis. There are multiple more examples like this throughout the book that require the same level of thought to formulate.

With that simplified background of the book one can understand the magnitude of thought needed to formulate this book. It was truly an eye opening experience reading this book. One can simply focus narrowly on the task at hand, much like looking down a hallway, but you can also look at the task at hand and relate it to other aspects of your work, much like looking at something outside in the wide open. This book gives you the ultimate big picture. It thinks of everything you didn’t think of. It was truly an eye opening and in-depth experience reading this book.

Word Count: 314

Stiff

Roach, Mary. Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. Print. (292)

Stiff is a realistic approach to what happens to human cadavers. When people think they are donating their body to science, they usually think of their body lying in a University laboratory. Despite this being true for some, it is far from the truth for others.

I myself have visited a cadaver lab with Biology Club out at Kirkwood. I must say, it is quite the experience. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. Before we were let in they had to talk to us about how if any of us start to feel nauseous to let one of the adults know, and that we could leave the room. Overall it was a very cool experience to be able to learn about the human body. “Torso man” can only teach you so much, but seeing and being able to hold actual organs is truly hands on learning.

In Stiff I bet a lot of the donors believed that their body would be in the kind of setting I described above, but in fact, a lot of the times it is not the case. In the first chapter I was at first appalled by the fact that human heads were used practice face lifts. But when you think about it, what else would they practice on? Roach brings up a good point that if you were a patient getting a face lift, would you want your cosmetic surgeon to be performing it on you without any “real” practice. Obviously not, and this is the type of questions raised throughout the book. This is the realistic approach that many of us do not think about. Before reading this book I didn’t really have any interest in donating my body to science. After reading it I feel as though the book has reinforced my decision, even though it is still necessary for the development of human sciences.

Word Count: 333

1984

Orwell, George. 1984. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. Print. (245)

1984 brings to light the extremities of totalitarianism. It gives people a look at what could happen someday if a single government party gained too much control. It provides evidence to support our two-party system of government. That way no one group can gain too much power.

In relation to the real world today one can observe similarities between 1984 and the totalitarianism happening slowly but surely today. It is happening so slowly that individual and subtle changes go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things. Totalitarian leaders Adolf Hitler’s and Joseph Stalin’s campaigns happened abruptly, making is easily noticeable. One example of this is the mobile speed trap (red jeep), although there is only one of these mobile speed traps, there are now many red light cameras and speed cameras implemented throughout the city.

Social injustice portrayed in 1984 is to the extreme. The elite and rich are the inner party members. Next in the social hierarchy are the outer party members, barely existing and getting by. The social standings are similar to those in The Hunger Games. High class people will only interact with each other, and are quick to disrespect the people of lower classes.

Despite the shocking reality 1984 had on me, I enjoyed it because of the depth of knowledge behind it. Who could have thought of the creation of a new way to speak? (Newspeak) Definitions of words had explicit meanings, in order to eliminate unintentional meanings. They eliminated words that could speak badly about something, that way it was impossible to formulate a bad thought into words. My experience was eye opening to the world today, and has made me more aware of things in society.

Word Count: 294

Where I am From

I loved Legos

Thomas the Train, Spongebob

Kinex, monopoly, soccer

White and brick house

Flower pots in front

Playground in back

Tastes like heaven

Smells like home

Sounds like peace

Christmas at our place

Jolly and fun

Oh the gift of giving

Debbie and Randy Man

Messy Jessy and Jenny

Plus the Gunnar Guy

Always late

Told to be on time

Santa isn't real?

Ya fired'

Lutheran Church

St, Luke Hospital

Apple Crisp

Falling in the FDR Memorial

Family Vacation to the coast

I Choose Modern Warfare 3!

Based on all the facts stated in my previous few blog posts, my personal opinion is that Modern Warfare 3 is better than Battlefield 3. It is obvious that both games had many things going for them. In many cases it depends on one's personal preference. I am more into the quick, clean-cut games rather than the longer, more team oriented games. With that being said, personally, (everyone will have their own opinion on which is better), I would recommend Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 over Battlefield 3.

I feel I have fairly judged the two as I own Battlefield 1943, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: The Final Hour, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare (4), Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty Black Ops, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. I am obviously a fan of both series; the only reason why I have more Call of Duty's is simply because they have made more games.

Despite my preference towards Modern Warfare 3, I will still continue to play Battlefield 3 in the near future. I would also just like to point out that Modern Warfare 3, and Call of Duty in general, has a much large fan base than Battlefield. When I spoke with my friend that works at GameStop, he told me that pre-orders for Modern Warfare 3 were much higher than those for Battlefield 3.

Don't get me wrong after reading this series of blogs, I still love to play Battlefield 3, it is just my personal opinion goes to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Having said this, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, if you don't agree with me that is your own prerogative. This is my prerogative so don't comment trying to sway me a certain way. Your words can't change which game I enjoy more.

Word Count: 321

Modern Warfare 3: The Cons

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this post I will discuss the cons of Modern Warfare 3.

First and foremost, the greatest con of Modern Warfare 3 is that it doesn't truly seem like Modern Warfare 3. This is because the game is so similar to its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2. They are so alike, someone that is not into or no familiar the Call of Duty series could probably mistake them for each other. Although this was disappointing, Modern Warfare 2 was a good game in itself so, making one similar makes sense. The biggest complaint about Modern Warfare 3 is that is a straight remake of Modern Warfare 2, often referred to as Modern Warfare 2.1.

Maps. Maps. Maps. I will honest, the maps are not my favorite. Despite most of them being well balanced, they all look familiar. I could probably go through the list of maps and relate it to another map from a past Call of Duty. Sometimes I get the feeling that I paid $60 for a map pack for Modern Warfare 2. Maps are an all around disappointment in this game.

Another map related rant is details. There is so much detail! It is all a bunch of eye candy, but when you get into the game and you start playing, those cool little details become annoying. I'm sure that everyone that is a regular fan of Call of Duty games can understand the concept of getting "stuck". This is when you try to move your character a certain way, but you run into something, causing you to stop moving. This happens way too much in Modern Warfare 3, to the point as to where I have to include it in my rants. The largest percent of "details" I get "stuck" on are random bicycles lying around in a map. They are often propped up against walls, and when you back up, they can become lethal for you.

My final complaint about Modern Warfare 3 the powers of the party leader. They are given way too much power. If they choose to leave a game, they can select to take their entire party out of the game with them. Look at it like this, if you were doing really well in a game, but your party leader wasn't, he could choose to leave the game and take you out of it too, attributing a loss to your record. A similar thing to this is if someone in your party loses connection to the host during the game and if they get kicked from the game, it pulls your entire party out of the game to "follow the player back to the lobby".

Word Count: 456

Modern Warfare 3: The Pros Part 2

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this blog I will write a continuation of the Pros of Modern Warfare 3.

I will start out by giving you guys a statement released by IGN, which is highly regarded in the gaming community.

"The multiplayer is hands-down the best it has ever been, with more features, more modes and a ton of new levels and ways to interact via Call of Duty Elite. The singleplayer campaign and Spec Ops mode add value to the overall package, creating something that may not be perfect, but is too addicting to pass up."

This basically sums up the multiplayer of Modern Warfare 3. The Call of Duty series have always had the best multiplayers, each of them building slightly more on its predecessor. Modern Warfare 3 has done just that. They have added that little bit of extra finesse that Infinity Ward and Trey arch are so good at. They know what the community wants to see, and they deliver. I have never been disappointed by a Call of Duty game. It is also fun to be part of the hype from

Another good thing about Modern Warfare 3 is that all but one of the maps are completely balanced. This means that neither side has a significant advantage of the other. This was key component that Infinity Ward had to nail; otherwise it could have completely spun the game array. Good thing is, we don't have to worry about that because they did such a awesome job developing and constructing equal sided maps.

The following is a chart from www.gameinformer.com. They have compiled the review scores from many of the different video games community's news sites. As you can tell, almost all of them rated Modern Warfare 3 even with, or slightly better than Battlefield 3.

                  

Word Count: 309

Modern Warfare 3: The Pros Part 1

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this blog post I am going to analyze the pros of Modern Warfare 3. There are a lot of good things about this game, so there is plenty to talk about. So lets get started!

My favorite part of the game is its overall atmosphere. It has a very different game play stlye than Battlefield 3 and personally I like it. Things move very quickly in Modern Warfare 3, so you must be quick on your feet (or controller). This kind of constant action is a key characteristic of the game that makes it so good.

A great feature of the game is the gun selection and customizations. When you unlock the gun you get it right away, no COD points needed. Then after getting so many kills with the gun you can unlock very cool and useful customizations. Some examples are a red dot sight, heartbeat sensor, silencer...and so on. The guns are also much stronger in Modern Warfare 3 than they are in Battlefield 3. In MW3 you can kill someone in anywhere from 1-6 shots depending on the gun you are using. If you say otherwise, it means you are either very far away, or plain and simply not hitting them.

Killstreaks. A major improvement made during Modern Warfare 2, was improved/changed in Modern Warfare 3. They have changed/added/ taken out specific killstreaks to make the game feel more fresh. They also took out the Nuke, probably one of the most annoying things from Modern Warfare 2. Killstreaks add to the overall awesomeness of the multiplayer. As for the campaign, I cannot speak for that because I have yet to play it. Based off previous Call of Duty's I can assume that this campaign is just as sick as the others.

Word Count: 307

Battlefield 3: The Cons

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this blog post I am going to analyze the cons of Battlefield 3. Despite there being numerous pros motioned in my last post, there are also large amounts of cons to it.

First and foremost is the game pace. As a result of having larger maps, individual Battlefield 3 games go sooo slowly. They seem to drag on for hours (not literally hours). But honestly some games can last upwards of a half of an hour. Matchmaking in Battlefield 3 is pretty good except for the fact that you cannot leave in between games, you must wait for the next game to start in order to “quit”.

Another large drawback of Battlefield 3 is that it takes an unreal number of shots to kill someone. On average it will take 7-10 shots to kill someone, obviously unreal. This can also add to overall frustration when a game is so good in so many aspects, but has one major flaw. Another small flaw is the tactical flashlight attachment. This blinds enemies when close, leaving them virtually defenseless. This feature is widely overused, resulting in growing frustration.

Some of the maps for the Rush game mode are extremely biased to one side. For example, Kharg Islands, is biased towards the defenders, it is this way because it is near impossible to win when you or on offense. Despite this, there are still many great maps.

Now for the jets…probably the most highly anticipated part of the entire game. They suck. No other way to put it. You are required to get 300 points in order to get your first unlock in a jet, a rather easy task for anything else. For jets it is different, they start out with just a machine gun that shoots straight. It is nearly impossible to kill anything with a jet. In my two weeks of playing the game, I have accumulated only 50 points in jets!

Overall the game seems to have its glitches, but almost all games have those. Also the game seems in general unpolished, meaning that there was a decent amount of room for improving the finishing touches of the game. Even with all these rants, the game is still awesome!

Word Count: 381

Modern Warfare 3 vs. Battlefield 3: Battlefield 3: The Pros

**Warning! There may be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this series of blog posts I am going to analyze probably the two best video games of the year. MW3 vs. BF3. Both of them have their high points, but both also have their low points. In the end I will give my opinion on which of them I prefer, and recommend buying if you are debating between the two.

Let’s begin with Battlefield 3; it came out exactly two weeks before Modern Warfare 3. It was anticipated to be the better game of the two by many. It of course has some extreme highs, but also some extreme lows. The highs of battlefield are numerous, in some ways it is just an all around different game play.

The overall best feature of Battlefield 3 is the feel for the game. It is on extremely large maps, giving it the feeling of a real war. Because of the vastness, it simulates an entire battle, from start to end. This overall contributes to the excitement of the game. It forces you to work as a team in order to reach or fight for an objective.

Another main thing that is good about Battlefield 3 is the ability to change classes during a game. You can fully customize your classes without having to leave a game. The unlock system in Battlefield 3 is also a pro, it unlocks certain guns, perks, and vehicles just for reaching a certain level. This way you do not have to work very hard to unlock certain guns. There also is no Prestige system in Battlefield 3, this way, once you unlock something, you keep it forever. Otherwise each time you Prestige, you would basically be reset for a little bit of Prestige.

Vehicles. Definitely my favorite part of the game. Vehicles are all around fun to use in Battlefield 3. The tanks are very powerful and useful in objective based games. They are able to destroy almost anything, even walls, other tanks, or whole buildings. Jets are very cool to fly around in, but can be difficult to get kills in. There are numerous types of helicopters, most of which are very good to use in both offensive and defensive ways.

These are some of the pros of Battlefield 3!

Word Count: 385

On Keeping a Blog

Writing a blog is much more than telling a story. Writing a blog is telling the thoughts and feelings behind that story. Blogging can have much more of a meaning than simply writing down your day’s activities. Blogging collects your activities from the day, and organizes them into the thoughts and emotions.

When I sit down to write a blog, I think about my day and what I thought about during that day. Usually I channel those thoughts into either a persuasive or informational blog. Other times when I blog, I find myself rushed (like now) because I have procrastinated. When this happens I often have to write about uninteresting topics.

Eventually I get to writing. When I do I usually will write my entire blog post in one sitting. But, sometimes when I have activities, I can conveniently save it on blogger.com, and come back to it later. I don’t like to split up the work because sometimes you can forget crucial details you intended to include when you were originally typing up a blog post. Then again, this could also be helpful because it allows you to think about and develop you blog post’s purpose while working on something else. Sometimes all you need from something is a break to get the creative juices flowing.

The benefits of writing a blog are numerous. If you read them later on, they remind you of certain thoughts you had on the given day. Blogging is also a way to simply express your feelings behind your actions. If something is going on that day that you want to talk to someone about, blogging can be your way of venting your feelings. Instead of talk to someone in person, it is similar to talking to the blogging community. These are some of the great benefits of blogging!

Word Count: 305

25 Facts About Me

1. I am easily entertained
2. I have two sisters, both older
3. I love electronics
4. I am horrible at writing (as you can tell)
5. I wish I could be thee Valedictorian
6. I am not easily impressed
7. I am easily annoyed
8. I love to play Xbox
9. I am spoiled
10. I won the Geography Bee in 7th Grade
11. I used to play soccer
12. I procrastinate too much
13. I hold grudges
14. I am in Protege
15. I went to Franklin Middle School
16. I don't really have a favorite subject
17. I like to ski
18. I want to go to space
19. I have been to Hawaii
20. I have been to Peru and Bolivia
21. I want to visit all 50 states
22. I want to tour the world
23. I am a super slow reader
24. I do not like school
25. I love summer

Unsung Americans

The following four people were all from the the 1800's and were very influencial in shaping social views of America. These people are not always recognized for their works so I decided to take a moment to recognize what they have contributed toawrds social reform.


Harriet Beecher Stowe was the writer of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She criticized the American Social classes. Mainly she inspired anti-slavery movements. It was successful for driving anti-slavery forces during the civil war. She was an interesting figure because she spelled out for people the thoughts of anti-slavery. She was so obsessed she wrote of 20 books in her lifetime. The lasting impact Stowe had been her anti-slavery ideals.


Elijah Lovejoy was a Presbyterian minister and abolitionist. He wanted to put an end to slavery. He was also a journalist and printed a newspaper preaching about abolitionism. He was successful because he was noticed, by both supporters and non supporters. His printing warehouse had been destroyed three times in his lifetime by pro-slavery radicals. He was so obsessed with the idea that he moved his press to Illinois, a free state, so he could freely print his newspaper without the fear of angry southerners. His lasting impression after his assassination was his drive and determination for abolitionism.


Elizabeth Cady Stanton criticized American society for its views on women and blacks. She committed her life to women’s suffrage, as well as being an abolitionist. She was successful in creating a women’s rights organization with Susan B. Anthony. He lasting legacy was her desire for white female suffrage, over black male suffrage.


Lucretia Mott was a women’s rights activist as well as an abolitionist. She improved lives through her tireless struggle for universal suffrage. She, along with Stanton, organized the Seneca Falls convention on women’s rights. The greatest length see went to while pursuing her goals was when she co-organized the Seneca Falls Convention.


Robert Owen was a social reformer that believed in utopian socialism. His plans were to combat poverty through the setup of isolated utopias of about 1250 people. He failed his “experiment” in New Harmony because he lacked the ability to govern the community. He was an interesting historical figure because of his radical approach to problems. He continued his works in England following the failure of New Harmony. His lasting legacy was is introduction of socialism into society.




Word Count: 394

Revised Essay: Final Draft

As promised, with 400 more words than the first draft:

America

Some of us fail to realize how lucky we are to live in such a great country.  We take the most basic things for granted and never stop to appreciate the little things that make our lives so comfortable and free. Our way of life is exclusive because few others in the world live like us. We live in the land of opportunity, a place of social mobility, regardless of a person’s background. Our system is designed to reward those that take advantage of the opportunities offered in America. Everyone can go to school. You have the option to go to college and from there you can choose almost any career opportunity you desire. We don’t always realize that this is not how the rest of the world works.

Last summer I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Peru. My expectations were not high, knowing that it was a third-world country, but I was not prepared for what I saw. After living in the United States all my life, I came to the understanding that this is what the world is like. I believed everyone had a school, a home, a hospital, even clean drinking water. This was nowhere near the case: the people of Peru live with simple pleasures. Their national education budget is barely one-tenth of a percent to that of the United States’s. After high school, we have two main choices on how to start out our adult life. We can choose a career or continue our education by going to college. Unlike many Peruvians, we are able to control our future. For some, if they are born into a small village in the Andes, they have to work the land all their life on sustenance farming, never getting the chance to go to a formal school. If you are a little girl, you often sell scarves and hats to foreigners until you are an old woman. These people are never given the opportunity to expand their knowledge or make something else of themselves.   

                Peruvians cannot count on their fellow citizens to have the least bit of respect for the law. In Lima, the capital, all of the downtown buildings are surrounded by 10 ft high walls with electric fences on top of them. This sends the message to travelers that Peru is so corrupt, that they have to take extreme measures to protect themselves. We are not perfect in the United States either, but at least we do not have to live with electric fences around our homes. Sanitarily, we have institutions in place to take care of things such as trash and sewage. Every Wednesday, my family can count on the garbage truck to come by to pick up our trash. In Peru, these institutions are much less organized and waste often ends up in the street. In America dogs are often referred to as “man’s best friend.” On the other hand, Peru has an outrageous number of stray dogs roaming the streets. Every block has at least one neglected dog, with nowhere to go, nowhere to call home.

On the other side of the equator, we live in the utmost comfort: we have cars, lavish homes, cell phones, etc. Materialistically, Peruvians have simpler things resulting in a simpler society. Some have cell phones, and others have cars that they can use to communicate; but outside of big cities, you feel as though you have gone back in time. Small villages are not connected to the internet and few, if any, have cell phones. In order to be an active member of our society today, some sort of cell phone or social media network is usually required to keep up with society. These objects have become a way of life for us, giving us a sense of identity as a world leader in technology.

                Because we are lucky enough to live in one of the best countries in the world, I feel we should embrace what makes it so excellent. First and foremost are our rights. When comparing individual freedoms of various countries, we are often at the top when it comes to rights and civil liberties. Peruvians have nearly identical civil liberties except for that women have reduced rights to land ownership. A chief characteristic of the United States is its high standard of living. Many of us have extravagant homes, which is the single most distinctive trait of American prosperity. We are blessed with homes consisting of multiple amenities. Homes in Peru are usually one room buildings made of adobe bricks, like a mud hut. The roofs on these homes are made of thatch grasses and sometimes corrugated tin. There are many parallel comparisons between the United States and Peru that illustrate the overall differences in society.

It is obvious that we live a luxurious and prosperous life style. We express our freedoms through our successes and our prosperity. We are blessed to have the opportunities we have: the opportunity to better ourselves, the opportunity to make something happen in the world. We cannot truly appreciate the fortunes of living in America until we have a chance to experience another country.  And even though we have our own share of problems, we are better off than most of the world.

Word Count: 890

Procrastination Part 2

In my last post, I outlined what procrastination is. In this post I am going to explain the effects procrastination has upon your work.

 The part of procrastination that hurts your learning is the fact when you do something at the last minute, it is usually of much less quality than if it was down in small amount over the course of the given time period. For example, if I had done these blog posts earlier in the trimester, then they would have probably been about more worthy topics for blogging, other than procrastination.

When work is done at the last minute, things get sloppy; you don't have time to spend on each minute detail. You goal is to finish, nothing else. You start to not care about the quality of your work. This obviously was not the way the assignment was designed by the teacher. They envisioned the students would take their time, and carefully plan out each and every detail, but procrastination kills this.

As mentioned in Part. 1, procrastination is both very calming but also very stressful. At the time you choose to procrastinate, it is very calming, you don't have to worry about things and you can relax. But, we all know the fun ends eventually, and when the time to actually do the assignment, you dread every moment of it. You are tired, you stay up late, and you are in an all-around bad mood. That exactly describes me right now. I have procrastinated and now I am paying for it.

I did not always use to be this way; I used to do my homework first thing when I got home. In middle school I could sometimes even finish my work at school. But things have changed, for some reason that I don't know, I put assignments off. It is not that I do not care about school; I still care very much about it. Even with all the procrastination, I have never not done my homework in my life.

Word Count: 336

Procrastination Part 1

The Dictionary.com definition of procrastination is the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off or delaying,especially something requiring immediate attention: She was smart, but her constant procrastination led her to be late with almost every assignment.

Now the reason I am writing a blog about the topic is because, I am a huge procrastinator. You can tell right now by just looking at the number of blog posts I have. I have to have thirty posts by the end of the term. (November 18) At this exact moment, I have 11 posts. I am in for a rough couple of weeks going into the end of the term. I have 12 days until the end of the term, and 18 posts. To top this off, I also need to write most of my annotated bibliographies for AP Lang as well.

Some would say, "Wow! Your teacher is really mean assigning all of that at the end of the term," Unfortunately that is not the case. I would have to respond shamefully that I actually had the entire term to write the blog posts and the bibliographies. This, is the ultimate definition of procrastination. I have had plenty of time to work on and write these assignments all term. Despite this, my attitude was usually, "Oh I'll do it later, I don't have to worry about it because it isn't due until the end of the term. Well, it is the almost the end of the term, and it is now time to actually do the assignment.

I think procrastination can be devastating to both you and your learning. This is becasue putting things off until the last minute usually results in large, demanding hours of work. This is very physically taxing and stressful. You can become overwhelmed and end up not even doing the work.

Word Count: 306

Revised Essay: First Draft

This is the first draft of my revised essay for the fall term of AP Lang. It is about how great America is. I visited Peru last summer so, there are many comparisons between America and Peru in the essay. I will post my final draft sou you can read both and see the differences between the two, and believe me, there are a lot of them.

America

                Some of us fail to realize how lucky we are. We take the simplest things for granted. We do not take a moment to stop what we are doing and appreciate our fortunes. Our way of life is exclusive. No one else in the world lives in such luxury as we do.

                Last summer I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Peru. My expectations were not high, but I was not prepared for what I saw. After living in the United States for all my life, I came to the understanding that this is what the world is like. I believed everyone had a school, a home, a hospital, even clean drinking water. This in fact was nowhere near the case.  Peru is a third-world country. The people there have simple pleasures.

                On the other side of the equator, we live in the utmost comfort. We have cars, lavish homes, cell phones. Outside of the big cities, it was difficult to find the most common of things in the United States. For example, there were no toilets in small villages; there were simply holes in the ground. It is simple things like this that we take for granted.

                Because we a lucky enough to live in one of the best countries in the world, I feel we should embrace what makes it so excellent. First and foremost are probably our rights. We have an extreme number of freedoms compared to a lot of other countries. In North Korea, individual freedoms are severely reduced when put side by side to those of Americans. Another thing the United States holds above all others is our fulsome standard of living. In Peru, nearly everyone walked from place to place. Here almost everyone has car for commuting. This and the home are the staple of American wealth.  Extravagant homes are probably the single most distinctive trait of American prosperity. We are blessed with solid constructions with ever amenity you could think of. Multi bathroom houses are almost unheard of in Peru. For the few with cars in Peru, almost none keep their cars in a garage. We have a solid roof over our heads that cost thousands of dollars. In Peru, they have thatch and corrugated tin roofs. There houses are made out of adobe, basically mud houses, and even then they are usually only one room.

It’s obvious that we live a luxuries life style. The tallest building that I saw in Lima, the Nation’s capital was probably no taller than the Alliant Energy Building in downtown Cedar Rapids. For these things we must be thankful for. We truly don’t understand how fortunate we are until we have a chance to visit and immerse ourselves in a different culture. And even though we have our own share of problems, we are still much better off than much of the rest of the world.

Word Count: 551

My Love and Fears for Gadgets Part 2

My most recent incident was with my Ipad, my newest and most prized gadget. I have been extremely, extremely, extremely cautious with it. I had not let anyone other than my tech savvy sister use it yet. I got a shell case and soft polyurethane smart cover to protect it. Yet the first time, the very first time I let someone other than myself or my sister use my Ipad, my friend drops it within two seconds of me handing it to him. Now I had told him before handing it to him to be careful and he assured me that he would be careful. But I should have expected it. He drops is straight down, landing on the screen. Now my initial reaction is probably not appropriate for school, but needless to say, I was not happy. I quickly snatched up my Ipad and luckily, there wasn't even a mark on the screen. This has caused me to go back to my previous rules of not letting anyone else use it.

I had never had a nice cell phone up until about a year ago. I had never really cared for my cell phone because I usually just had a cheap, standard, flip phone. But things changed, somehow, I convinced my mom to get me a Droid 2. I will admit, I wanted an Iphone, but we had Verizon and that wasn’t an option at the time. As with my Ipad, I vowed to be extremely careful while using my phone. It wasn’t until bragging to my friend that I had never dropped my phone before, I dropped my phone twice that night. I felt like an idiot. I didn’t severely damage or anything, just a scuff mark or two. Since then I have dropped my phone a few more times, and every time I pick it up afterwards, I have the fear that when I pick it up, the screen will be cracked. Then I would be forced to go back to my old, outdated flip phone.

My last fear I will talk about isn't about breaking something; it's about getting something stolen. My TomTom. I have always had a fear of someone snatching my TomTom out of my car. I have had some instances where I have come out to my car to find it unlocked, meaning anyone could have simply opened the door and taken anything they wanted. This wouldn't only lead to self-frustration. It would also make me feel like my privacy was invaded. I would feel as though my car is no longer a safe place to store my belongings.

And those are my fears and close calls with my gadgets.

Word Count: 447

My Love and Fears for Gadgets Part 1

As you could probably tell from my last post about my Ipad, I love it. It is extremely fun to use while also being adept to all my needs and wants. I also have a number of other gadgets and electronics that I love including my laptop, my droid, my desktop computer, my Xbox, my GPS, and my numerous Ipods. Now sure many of you guys are thinking "Nerd!" but call me what you want, I have a love for technology.

What comes along with all of these gadgets are the fears of them breaking or something happening to them. Much of these gadgets come as an investment to me, and I usually opt out of the available "insurance" with the mindset that I will be extremely careful. That has been completely true, so far, but now that I am blogging about it I am sure to drop something..., but it is true that I have been as careful as I can be and have never so much as cracked a screen on any of my devices. 

I have had my close calls though. For example, during an away freshman football game I brought my Ipod Touch for the bus ride, and on the way back I noticed a large crack across the screen. Now at the time this Ipod was relatively new, so you can understand how upset I was. It wasn't until later that night that I came across the idea that maybe it was just the screen protector that was scratched. To my relief, I pulled off the screen protector and low and behold, the "crack" disappeared. 

My Xbox on the other hand did end up breaking at one instance. I had just gotten back from a friend’s house where I had brought my Xbox over to so we could play together. Upon plugging everything back in at my house, and turning it back on, there it was. What every Xbox owner dreads, the Red Ring of Death. This is a flashing red ring that indicates that there has been a hardware malfunction within the Xbox. I had two options, one was to just buy a new Xbox, the other option was to send my Xbox in and wait a month for them to fix it and send it back. I chose to just send it in and have them fix it. This would have cost $130 dollars, but luckily for me, my Xbox had about 2 weeks left in its warranty so I got it for free.

Word Count: 421

ipad and iloveit

Let’s start off by letting you know that I own an Ipad 16 GB version. Now some of you might think that is completely ridiculous for a high school student to own an Ipad. Now that could go both ways, in some ways it is very helpful. It can be especially useful at school now with the school-wide Wi-Fi. 

Some pros of having one in school are it is lighter and easier to carry around than a laptop. It is also smaller than a laptop, allowing you to take up less of that valuable backpack space. It is handy for looking up quick facts or looking up words on Dictionary.com. You can play games on it in your free time. You can do general surfing the web anywhere with Wi-Fi. You can also get an Ipad with 3G allowing you to surf the web anywhere, regardless of Wi-Fi. But that can get expensive because it is $20 a month. Even then it is relatively slow internet and limited data plans.

Some cons are obviously that they are expensive. $500 expensive. Especially for student without a job. I initially bought an Ipad for the sole reason that I wanted one. I had no specific plans for what I would use it for and such, I just wanted it. I can now say that it was well worth. I also have a laptop, a relatively large laptop at that, 17 inches and a couple of pounds. I almost never move it. I usually just keep it in my room and move it if I really need to. But have an Ipad has seriously cut down on my time in my room and on my laptop, I can do most things I would do on my laptop, on my Ipad. The only thing I usually do on my laptop still rather than on my Ipad is blogging or typing a paper. I personally don't believe I could write a whole paper on a virtual keyboard. Plus you would have to download a $10 app just to use as a word processor.


Despite these cons, I love having an Ipad, and it is extremely easy and fun to use for both work and play.

Word Count: 348

Dancing with the Star's Relatives

Last night I was casually watching Dancing with the Stars while working on some homework. I couldn't help but notice that there was a lack of "Stars" on the show. The only people I actually knew was Nancy Grace, Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace, and Rob Kardashian, who in fact I did not actually know, I just recognized the name from the ever popular "Keeping up with the Kardashians."

When I got home last night I expected to walk in to my dad watching the new season of Dancing with the Stars. He usually follows the reality TV. show closely, but this year was different. When I questioned him about it he responded, "Oh yeah, there is just a bunch of losers on the show this year. And that Nancy Grace girl, I can't stand her. From what little I have heard from her, she is a complete idiot." Now by this I could totally see where he was coming from. I had also heard a lot of ridicule about this season's Dancing with the Stars. .

During the show they showcased their "new" ballroom that had been completely renovated with grand central staircase in the middle. The choreographers were all excited because of the new layout of the floor and the different dances they could choreograph. In addition to the new floor and staircase, they have the largest disco ball in all of North America hanging high ballroom floor. Despite these renovations, I don't believe they are enough to save the show from the obvious fact that there are hardly any stars. The biggest star on the show, Ron Artest, was eliminated first last night on the results show.

The boldest and in my opinion, the funniest statement about this season is the name "Dancing with the Star's Relatives." This is obviously referring to Rob Kardashian, he of course is definitely not a star. He is simply, as the name states, a relative of a star.

Word Count: 328

"CRapids"

Surely most teenagers living in Cedar Rapids have heard the phrase "CRapids". In reality though, is Cedar Rapids all that crappy? That question you could argue either way. Cedar Rapids definitely has some pros, but it also carries some cons.

Cedar Rapids has that suburb feel, without actually being near a big city. It is a mix of big and small, and I like it. Cedar Rapids is the City of Five Seasons, which to this day, I don't know what the fifth season is. There is a parody of this phrase that calls Cedar Rapids, the City of Five Smells. This refers mostly to Quaker Oats. When driving by on the interstate or downtown, you can usually tell what kind of cereal they are making that day based on what the smell is.

As far as calling Cedar Rapids, CRapids, is this name really just, or not? Some pros of Cedar Rapids is the nice size and feel of the city. We have our own minor league baseball team, The Kernels. We are in the process of getting a semi-professional football team, The Cedar Rapids Titans. There is a new outdoor amphitheater being built by the police station. We have large businesses such as Alliant Energy, Quaker Oats, ADM Corn sweeteners, and General Mills. There have been some famous people that grew up in Cedar Rapids, such as Zach Johnson and Kurt Warner.

Cons of Cedar Rapids are numerous. The downtown area is relative unattractive, especially after the Flood of 2008. Because of this flood, downtown Cedar Rapids has dramatically taken a hit on businesses. There are not a lot of things to do. Potholes are numerous all throughout the city. Geographically in Iowa, the seasons suck. In the winter, it is extremely cold and there is a ton of snow. In the summer it is unbearably hot, so hot that you don't want to go outside.

Although there both pros and cons of Cedar Rapids, I have lived here for 17 years and it is home to me.

Word Count: 340

Credit Card Cluster Cont.

This system explained below works much like you see in commercials for telephone service. The telephone company offers a great deal such as 29.99/month for the first year, but then afterwards the price hikes up to 99.99/month. At this point the figure since people have already set up their phone for that specific telephone company, many will just continue to pay the ridiculous price instead of going through the hassle of changing telephone companies. 

The icing on the cake for my Xbox live ordeal was what sent me over the edge. I scoured xbox.com/live for a way to cancel the monthly subscription that I was over paying for. After about 10 minutes of searching their website, I decided to call their toll-free number, something anyone dreads doing. After pressing about 5 different buttons through automated prompts I got on hold for an operator. I was on hold for about 15 more minutes while they played horrible music, in addition to running an advertisement every 30 seconds. Then once I finally got to speak to a gentleman named Sam, he tried to sell me just about everything Xbox had to offer before he would finally cancel my monthly subscription. 

Sometimes I just wish people and big time companies can just be honest with you. Everything seems to be a scam these days. These days you have to be extra careful in a society where everyone is trying to earn a dishonest buck. It worked on me; I fell for their little trick. Surely they didn’t get me in the long run, but they still made me pay double what I should have to for one month. It isn’t so much this one instance that they physically got five extra dollars out of me. It is just that it physically happened. On a larger scale this could be a much bigger problem, and as many have said before me, if it happened to me, it could happen to you.

And that was my credit card cluster.


Word Count: 334

Credit Card Cluster

As we all know, the credit card is a revolutionary way to pay and get paid. You can use the piece of plastic to pay for things when you do not have cash on hand. Despite these conveniences the credit card is a very dangerous tool and can result in disastrous situations financially.

Along with the common mistake of overspending, there is another thing credit card holders should watch out for. This is scams. Scams are everywhere. There are numerous types of scams and they all result in one thing, you losing money. Now some things are not legally considered "scams". 

What prompted me to write about this topic is because recently I had a $9.99 charge on my debit card. Now I knew I hadn't used my debit card recently and I didn't have any monthly subscriptions. But this was where I was wrong. Apparently I had signed up for a monthly subscription to Xbox live for $9.99 a month. But I know I never did this, so this is where I was confused. Three months ago I had purchased a package deal for Xbox live that was on sale for $9.99 for 3 months. I was under the impression that this was all I was doing and this was going to be a one-time deal for the 3 months and that was it. Nope. Little did I know, they decided to throw in a monthly subscription in 3 months later at 3 times the price. Surely $9.99 isn't a whole lot of money, but still I was being way overcharged for the service. Another factor fueling my anger with the situation was that I had been deceived. Maybe if I had paid more attention or "read the fine print" during checkout I would've noticed that there was a monthly subscription upon the conclusion of the initial 3 months. 

Word Count: 310

Airsoft: The Controversy

Many people believe playing Airsoft is hazardous and ridiculous pastime. Sure enough, you are renacting real life, dangerous situtuations. It is true that one could be seriously injured or blinded while playing. But for us the worst injury we have had is probably just a rolled ankle.

In the ethical respect, airsoft is no different from paintball. Both can cause serious damage to your eyes when not wearing the proper eye protection. This is why my friends and I strictly make sure our goggles are on at all times, even if they fog up. As far as the idea of shooting at other humans, I believe it is nothing like that at all. It is harmless other than an intitial stinging pain when your are hit.

The biggest controversy among the use of airsoft guns is the realness of them. This is where airsoft separates from paintball. Because paintball markers are not made to scale and models of real-life guns, police officers would not mistake it for a real gun. But for airsoft guns, there are in fact made to closely resemble real guns. The only thing separating a airsoft gun and a real gun at a glance is the orange muzzle or flash hider at the end of an airsoft gun. But this is ineffective because these orange tips are easily removable or painted black to resemble the real thing.

This realness comes into play with many crimes committed recently using airsoft/bb guns. Examples of this include armed robberies such as the links provided below:

http://www.masscops.com/f79/cops-teen-shot-clerk-face-pellet-gun-65729/

http://easterniowanewsnow.com/2011/03/23/cedar-rapids-police-arrest-woman-for-two-robberies-in-one-day/

Another very common crime committed using bb guns, not airsoft guns, is shooting out car windows. This accounts for $1.4 million in damages in the past six years, with each window costing $200 each to replace. Because of these serious and sometimes fatal crimes, the Cedar Rapids City Council has enacted a law banning people from carrying a loaded airsoft/bb gun. Before this change, the law only banned discharging of airsoft guns. The penalty for not abiding by this law is a $625 fine, and up to 30 days in jail. Here is a link to the blog I received most of my facts from, it outlines the problems with and steps taken against airsoft guns:

http://airsoftgun.blogspot.com/2009/05/cedar-rapids-tightens-law-on-airsoft.html

Word Count: 375

Airsoft: The Dying and the Dangerous

Among the instance below, there were other incidents involving ignorant teens with airsoft guns. All this led to the banning of the use of airsoft guns within city limits without a permit. Of course this enraged my group of airsoft friends and I, because now we would not be allowed to play in the woods behind my house without the risk of receiving a $600 ticket, and probably our airsoft guns confiscated. We were left with few options, one of which was one of my friends had a friend who owned a piece of land out by Wikiup Nature Center. We had played there multiple times before, and was easily our favorite place to play. But, there were some issues with it, such as, we need to request permission to use the land at least a week ahead of time, plus it was a twenty-minute drive to the place, and this was when non of us could drive. Although better, it was hassle and required much more planning than just going out into the woods behind my house.

About two years ago, there was a group of airsoft-ers that received a permit from the city allowing us to play airsoft on predetermined days. Ironically, the location was on the north east side at the First Assembly of God church. There are some woods next to the church, right between Lowe's and Highway 100. The event planners had to coordinate injury waivers for everyone, as well as let the police station know when they were holding an event. This turned out be a great event that attracted upwards of 30 people on a good day. Other than this, there haven't been many opportunities to play airsoft since the ban, resulting in the hobby dying down among many of my friends.

Despite my time away from the sport, I still have a deep desire to play, and hope to continue playing airsoft for years to come.

Word Count: 322

Airsoft

Airsoft is a competitive sport closely related to paintball. It is similar in that you have a gun or a marker and you re-enact a real life firefight. They both require a lot of strategy and physical fitness. In some games of airsoft, I probably travel up to mile in distance.

The main difference between the two is the projectile. In airsoft, the projectile is a 6mm plastic bb that comes in various weights such as .12g, .25g, .28g, .36g, and the most common being .20g. On the other hand, paintballs are .68 caliber. Another big difference is that airsoft tends to be more life-like than paintball in that airsoft guns are actual "model" guns, whereas paintball markers tend to just be a functional design, in no way resembling a specific gun. As far as being shot by each, I would have to say that getting shot by a paintball marker hurts much more than getting shot by an airsoft gun. Although paintballs travel slower than airsoft bb's, they have more mass, which leave a large bruise at the impact site. Airsoft shots travel much faster, but have severely less mass resulting in a smaller, but more precise welt that can sometimes draw blood. Regardless both are a fun way to pass time and exercise at the same time

Recently airsoft has come under the public spotlight. This is a result of robberies being committed using airsoft guns as a "fake gun" used to rob the store. My mom use to always tell me this story of a man who robbed a store with an airsoft gun, but the police had no way of knowing that it was a fake gun. In the end, the police ended up having to shoot and kill the robber. After the fact, it was discovered that the robber was using an airsoft gun and not a real gun. She would warn me never to use an airsoft gun in public because, despite the orange muzzle, it could be mistaken for a real gun.

Word Count: 339