Hurricane Season Starts

June 1st was the beginning of hurricane season. This season, Tampa Florida is predicted to be the in the top 5 for chances of getting hit by a hurricane. For some people, hurricane season gets them scatter-brained, and worried. It's always good to stock up on nonperishable foods, flashlights, bottles of water, and a generator can come in handy. My family always has plenty of bottled drinks, and food that you don't need electricity to make. Hurricane doesn’t frighten me a lot, but I keep my guard up.

Avril Lavigne's Inappropriate Actions At Rays Game!

After some of the Tampa Bay Rays games, there is a post concert for everyone who goes to the game. This most recent post concert was starring Avril Lavigne. Many people enjoy the pop star's music, and is an idol to many. Despite her role model attitude, Lavigne made some inappropriate comments on stage. On the microphone, she cursed up a storm, and caused an upset. The Rays had to apologize for her foul language to the crowd. I think what she did was out of line. I could maybe understand maybe one or two bad words, because people slip up sometimes, but she said way too many swears, especially considering there were children there that look up to her! When you use bad words all the time, you sound a lot less educated. I think if she is going to use that language, she needs to keep it off stage.

Boing! Jump Center

Do you like trampolines? Everywhere? Well Boing! is where you want to go! Located in Tampa, Florida, Boing! Jump Center is a fun place for the whole family. It basically is a house of trampolines, and they are all over the place. The walls and floors are covered in trampolines. There are two separate arenas. One is a free jump where you can do tricks or just jump around. The other arena has an intense game of dodge ball going on! Not only is Boing! a place to have fun with the whole family, it is also a great work out. It has fitness classes called Boing! Robotics, but sometimes just jumping for an hour is enough to wear you out!

The AP Tour!

Not too long ago, there was a concert in the State Theater in Saint Pete, called the AP tour. This year, the tour featured many bands, including my favorite band, Black Veil Brides. Of course with them there, I had to go. The State Theater was packed with many screaming fans. My friends and I made our way very close to the front. There were many crowd-surfers and mosh pits, but I had a lot of fun. After the concert, some of the bands came out to sign autographs, take pictures, and talk to the fans. I got signatures from all of Black Veil Brides accept one because they weren't feeling well. It was my first concert, and I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next concert!

Levee Breach To Help Stop Flood

In the Mississippi River, a levee was breached to stop a flood. The Ohio River was flooding terribly, so they breached the levee so it would pour into the Mississippi River to level it out. I think that is a very creative solution. Most people might not have thought that way. This will also help get the Mississippi River more water and help the drought a lot. It's a good idea, but it might have percussions. It will make the Mississippi River bigger, and if there are any farms near the edge, it could flood them. In my opinion, they need to keep a close eye on it just in case.

Osama Bin Laden Finally Put To Rest

Everyone is buzzing about the death of Osama Bin Laden. He was killed last night by USA troops, and everyone is going nuts. It is a relief that he is now gone forever, but I don't think that it will stop terrorist acts. This might anger the people working for him, which could cause rebellion. I think he deserved to die for his actions, but terrorism might get worse, which is a scary thought in my opinion. Right now I think we should get our defenses up and be on the lookout for any terrorist acts. If we don't, things might get ugly very fast.

91 Year Old Selling Suicide Kit

91 year old Sharlotte Hydorn has found a deadly business; selling "Suicide Kits". The suicide kit consists of a plastic bag, tube, and helium in its pure form, and is sold for $60. The user puts the bag over their head and connects the tube to the bag on one end, and connects it to the helium container to the other. Helium in its purest form is very deadly. Sharlotte Hydorn has sold over 1,600 kits every year. A book is included in the kit that is about assisting suicide. I think this is going too far. Selling this should be illegal and this woman should be sent to jail for assisting suicide. Even if it is directed towards people with terminal illnesses, it is easy access to anyone. No one in their right mind would ever even think about doing this! Sharlotte must be put away. It's people like this who makes the world a bad place.

Locking Your Wifi Could Save You A Visit From The FBI!

Some people think locking their Wifi is a hassal. When someone visits and has a device that connects to wireless internet, if your wifi is locked then you need to type in a code to connect to the Wifi. Some people don't want to deal with all of that, so they just leave their Wifi unlocked so people in the area can freely use it. Having your Wifi unlocked can have serious consiquences though. If someone uses that Wifi to do illegal, you might get a visit by the FBI. A younge man learned this lesson the hard way.
The man had his Wifi unlocked thinking it wasn't too big of a deal, but a slick neighbor decided to use that to their advantage. He got on to his wifi, and used it to download all sorts of illegale things. I think that is smart thinking, but not for the right person. People need to learn right from wrong, before something worse happens.

Trump For President?

Donald Trump is well known for the quote "You're fired!" This icon has recently announced that he is running for President! Trump has a lot of money, a globally known name, and a ready-made campaign slogan, which is a very good start for a presidential campaign. He insists he is serious about it, but experts in branding and politics think it is just to gain favorable exposure. Donald is a business man, and knows how to get what he wants with money. I don't think he will make it very far in the running, but it is interesting that he is trying. Even if he doesn't become president, I think his name will come up more often in politics.

Does NFL football player go to far to donate his brain to science?

Last week, Dave Duerson, two-time Super Bowl champion with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants chose to take his own life. His intentions were good though. 50 year old retired NFL Football player shot himself in the chest. He did this so he could donate his brain to a science lab in Boston University. The scientists there assess the life-long neurological effects that playing in the NFL can cause. I think that might have been going way too far for research. I fully understand donating your brain to science, but you should wait until you die naturally, instead of taking your life for it. That is just plain stupid in my opinion.
More info. at http://www.wired.com/playbook/2011/02/duerson-suicide-brain-study/

Australian Youtube bully gets bullied!

In Australia, everything seemed to be a normal day, but unfortunately it didn't stay that way. A bigger kid was getting bullied from a kid who was smaller than him. After he obviously had enough, the larger kid picked him up and slammed him onto the ground. I'm sure the little bully learned a lesson, seeing he suffers from a broken ankle and possibly other injuries. I think bullying is going a bit too far these days. A few fights are reasonable, we are all human, but people need to learn when enough is enough. It makes me sick that people hurt each other over very stupid things. I think some people need to learn to control their issues.
More info. at http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/18/youtube-hero-australian-boy-casey-heynes-body-slams-his-bully/

Disaster Strikes Japan

Many people are talking about the recent disaster in Japan. A huge earth quake and tsunami hit Japan, and caused many problems. The tsunami level was a shocking 8.9! More people died from drowning from the tsunami than the earthquake itself. Also, four of the nuclear plants are damaged, some even catching fire! The economy is taking a big hit because of this disaster.
Prices on many common and necessary items are going to sky-rocket. This is going to make it hard for people, especially without jobs (like me), to be able to buy things. It may seem mean, but the USA could actually benefit from this. If we push our products like agriculture and factory products, we could make a lot of money. I think that would be a smart thing to do. Japan sells a lot of goods, so if we produce goods that they can no longer produce, we would make a lot of money. That is what I think we should do. It would help boost the economy tremendously.

Spring Break Gas Worries Drivers

Spring Break is all about going to the beach, and having a good time. Many people drive out to their favorite places to hang out with their friends. There is only problem with that this year, and that is gas. The gas prices are very high, and it is stopping many drivers from being able to go to the places they want over break. Not everyone has enough money to fill their gas tank. This didn't affect me too much, because I don’t have a car, but it affected many other people.
I was affected a little though. My parents have to drive me places, and with the gas prices to high they couldn't keep driving me to place after place. My brother just got a car, so he wanted to drive places with his friends, but he had to cut back on gas a lot to save money. This wasn’t fun because we were both stuck at home for most of the break instead of hanging out with our friends.

"Do You Care What People Think?" Article

In the PHS newest Newspaper, I enjoyed the article "Do You Care What People Think?" article. It was about being stereotyped in high school, and to not let it get to you in a bad way. I think it was a good subject to write about. Especially in High School, people get stereotyped very often. Some people like their stereotype, but most don't. When people get stereotyped, it doesnt always fit the person. It's mean to classify people so easily. If you don't know a person, you shouldn't just stereotype them. If you are going to classify someone, at least get to know them first. If not, it's jst rude.

Rising Gas prices

Prices for gas have shot up in recent time. Some stations are up to $3.49 per gallon! I think the prices are getting ridiculous. With gas prices going up, eventually the price for everything will increase. The delivery trucks and other transpertation will have to cost more to bring good to places like a grocery store of the mall. This could make the prices for just about everything go up, because they have to get to the store by car or truck. I hate how the prices can just shoot up unexpectedly. I beleive that the prices should get set on one price, and not vary as much. I realize it is difficult to get gas right now, but these prices are getting  out of hand.

Another Police man shot by a 16 year old!

I think that the number of policemen getting killed is very depressing.We need to find a way to protect our armed forces better. If the police are trying to stop someone who is armed, they need more protection. Maybe modify the bullet proof vests and get some sort to helmate that is thick enough to at least slow a bullet. Police officers need to be more catious when they are against someone who is armed. I beleive that it is no ones fault but the child for the death. It is possible that the child thought something like "They got to be on the news, I want to also!" Unless the parents made the kid shoot the officer, which I highly doubt, then they had nothing to do with their son's decision.I beleive the child should be punished the way an adult would with the same charges.

Mike Tyson Getting Soft?

When I think of Mike Tyson, I think of a man who is very strong and scarey. Apparently, he isn't at frightening as I thought. Mike says that he is done with the old him, and now does odd jobs to make a living. I found him to be an interesting guy to watch on TV. The recovering drug addict now lives with his family, where I think he will be better off.
Found at http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-tysonbirdies022111

Pirates

Pirates hijacked a yatch with four civilians on it. The pirates killed all four of them. After a grenade was launched at a Navy boat, forces had to try to take control of the situation.This is a sad occurence. Luckily, the pirates were caputred and there will be 19 less pirates on the seas.

Colorado Eagles Coach Throws Fit

 Greg Pankewicz, coach of the Colorado hockey team the Eagles. A fight in the third period had Greg enrages, and he began throwing things on the ice, including his tie, shirt, and undershirt. He was soon sent to the dressing room. I think that was incredibly stupid. I can understand being mad, and maybe yelling, but taking off you're clothing and throwing it on the ice is uncalled for.
Found at http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Hockey-coach-strips-half-naked-throws-clothes-d?urn=nhl-324134