Thursday, April 29, 2010

PLN29

"2TXT or NT2TXT?"
By Garrison Keillor

In the article "2TXT or NT2TXT?" by Garrison Keillor, it talks about men's social skills and how they are decreasing with texting. First, if a person walks down the halls and they look around they will definitely see at least 3x as much girls texting as guys. Men do seem to be starting to lose the social aspect that girls have mastered but at the same time, is that a bad thing? If men do not have as much of a social life they will talk to the people they really want to talk to and will not get caught up in all of the drama that girls have in their life. Another point in the article is the part where the author is talking about how people text and hug over texts but lose the intimacy in the middle of all of this, teens do not text like that now days. If people think that teens text like that and send hugs and abbreviate that much then they are sadly mistaken because now days teens actually do spell out more words compared to abbreviations. Clearly, this article had some good and bad points about men's social activities.

PLN28

"Our boys are falling behind in education"
By Dottie Lamm

In the article "Our boys are falling behind in education" By Dottie Lamm, it tells about how boys are not doing as well as girls in school. This is a good point in some schools because it is true, but the article makes it seem like every college or university's boys are failing and the girls are the only ones succeeding, which is not true. In some colleges and universities there are more girls failing than boys but nobody focuses on that and just focuses on the boys failing which could be considered sexist by some people. The article is making lots of many good points about how girls are succeeding in the world but it does not say the accomplishments of boys in school or the world and just shows the bad, which is not fair. If the article has to keep saying that women are passing men and they are starting to get better grades plus succeed more in school and in life then, this just shows that men have always been higher up in education for the past hundred years and just now the women are coming up the ladder. Also the article says that women will not marry men because of the educational gap, which is the opinion of one person, because if a women really likes a man then they will not care about their education but for who they really are as a human. Clearly, this shows the statistics of men compared to women through education but it does not show the male side to this issue.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

PLN24

"Huge response to appliance rebate program"
By Mark Jaffe

In the article "Huge response to appliance rebate program" by Mark Jaffe, it talks about a rebate program for energy conserving appliances. There was a rebate program where if a person signed up for it then went out and bought an efficient appliance or something to save energy they would get a big rebate on the purchase. This program is called Recharge Colorado and the things you can buy while on the program range from washing machines to solar panels and the rebates are from $50 to $4500 dollars depending on what the customer buys. This is a good program to set up because not only is Colorado saving energy but people's energy bills are probably going down and their appliances will cost less. It was so popular at first that people had a 15 minute wait on the phone to sign up and give them the information. This matters to school, our community and the world because we are saving more energy. Clearly, this was a good program to put in place.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

PLN23

"Secretary at Denver School Charged in Duct Taping of Boy"
By: Joey Bunch

In the article "Secretary at Denver School Charged in Duct Taping of Boy" by Joey Bunch from the Denver Post, says that a elementary school secretary duct taped a boy to make him settle down in her office. An elementary school kid was sent to the office for being disruptive in class and when he got to the office the secretary duct taped his mouth shut and his hands together so he would be under control. She is most likely going to be arrested for child abuse and some other misdemeanor charges, she will also be fired from her job at the school the principle says. The first grader's mom, Ashlye Tenner, thinks the charges are completely appropriate and she says she would not expect anything less than what they charged her with already. She should be punished like this because you do not just go around duct taping kids like this just to make them be quiet and she should have to pay the consequence of her actions so she will never do it again. Clearly, this school secretary made a bad choice by duct taping a kid to make him be quiet and she should pay for it.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

PLN22

"Downtown bomb threat ends with discovery of pants in bathroom"
By Howard Pankratz

In the article "Downtown bomb threat ends with discovery of pants in a bathroom" by Howard Pankratz, it talks about how there was a bomb threat right off of Colfax and all the bomb squad found was a pair of jeans. A bomb threat shut down a Downtown Denver building at about 9:30 am because an employee heard a ticking noise in one of the bathroom stalls. The building was evacuated after the bomb squad arrived to search for any explosives. They were in the building for about 30 mins and when the officer came out he was holding a pair of regular pants normally worn by inmates; this building was a probation office. This matters to the city because it is a bomb threat and if it is true then it would harm or affect the people of the whole state. This shows that people can never take something to serious and should always take proper precautions when something serious happens. Clearly, these people were taking proper steps to be safe even though it turned out to be fake.

Monday, April 5, 2010

PLN21

"Aurora man named as casino robber"
By The Denver post

In the article "Aurora man named as casino robber" By The Denver Post, it talks about how a man was arrested this weekend for a robbery at the Black hawk casino. Randy Steven Keese, age 43, was arrested in Black hawk this weekend for a robbery at the casino. When Keese was confronted about the robbery he was in a parking garage in black hawk standing by his car, a policeman approached him and Keese allegedly pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the officer. The officer shot him and Keese is now in the hospital, he will be arrested on Tuesday on a 1 million dollar bond. Randy has also been charged with robbery, armed robbery, assault and escape. This shows that he did not learn through his previous actions and is going to have to face the consequence of his actions. This matters because of how desperate people can get for money if they really need it. During this rescission America is in there are probably more crimes being committed for money. Clearly, this was a desperate man who would do anything to make a couple extra bucks.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

PLN18

"Colorado Springs man strikes bicyclist in case of mistaken ID"By Keiran Nicholson (The Denver post)

In the article "Colorado Springs man strikes bicyclist in case of mistaken ID" by Keiran Nicholson, a man hits a biker because he thinks it's the theif who stole his son's bike earlier that week. A man from Colorado springs was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault after he hit a pedestrian with his truck on a bike because he mistakenly thought it belonged to his son, since his bike was just stolen and he thought it was thief who had stole it. The article says that the driver intentionally hit the guy but he was just trying to stop him then he was going to go out and confront the thief about stealing his son's bike, after he hit the man and got out to confront him the biker punched him in the face because he thought he was going to get attacked again by the driver. The pedestrian suffered minor injuries to his leg but was treated at the scene and was let go, the driver was treated on the scene also for a face injury from the punch then arrested. This article was a good representation of why we have to look out for our selves and how there really must be crazy people out there if bikers are getting hit just to be stopped and confronted.

PLN17

Usain Bolt Adopts a Cheetah"By Associated Press

In the video "Usain Bolt Adopts a Cheetah" by Associated Press, Usain Bolt travels to Kenya and adopts a cheetah from a wild animal reserve. The three time Olympic gold medalist, Usain Bolt, traveled to Kenya not too long ago for a safari. While he was on his safari he talked about seeing huge bull elephants, tigers, lions and cheetahs. He liked the cheetahs so much that when a cheetah in an animal reserve gave birth to a cub the staff members let him adopt it. The fastest man in the world just adopted the fastest animal in the world and he gave it a very fitting name, Lightning Bolt. He makes a speech to some of the staff and the governor about how great his experiences were in Kenya including the people, animals and also the safari ride. Clearly, Usain Bolt fell in love with cheetahs while in Kenya decided to adopt one while he was there.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

PLN16

"Man waits 5 months to collect $200M prize"
By Associated press

In the article "Man waits 5 months to collect $200M prize" by Associated press, it talks about a man winning the lottery and waiting to tell people. On October 16th, 2009 a man in Harrisonburg Virginia won the lottery and decided not to take the full $200,000,000, because it would be over 26 years before the payments were done, but to take the cash option and receive $125,000,000 dollars. After taxes he will get around $88.9 million. He won it last year but just decided to come forward after talking to legal and financial advisers, he has decided to invest the money. He bought the ticket at a small local gas station where he let the computer pick the numbers and it was the first time he had bought a ticket in a few months. Lottery officials say that this is the second highest payout to a Virginia resident in history. Clearly, on October 16th this was a lucky man and he made the right choice to wait and tell people.

PLN15

"Men's soccer tournament"
By Natavillage

In the article "Men's soccer tournament" by Natavillage, they held a soccer tournament in Africa to help raise money and help the community. In Africa Tebelopele held a soccer tournament over the 4 day weekend they had there and it was a six round knock out tournament for the community. While the tournament was going on they had a place where you could get tested for HIV/AIDS in fifteen minutes with their rapid test, in all 158 men, 122 women and 12 couples were tested for it and they educated 1362 spectators about the importance of getting tested for STD's and other acquired diseases. The winning team got 3 soccer balls and a pair of nets and all of the other teams received a soccer ball even for participating. This is a really good thing to do for the community because it gets people aware of diseases that are out there while they get to do what they love and that's play soccer with all of their friends around and even raise money and get free equipment. Clearly this was a very good idea from Tebelopele to catch awareness and help some of the people of Africa out.

PLN14

"South Park Creators Build Eco-Friendly Mansion"
By The Associated Press

In the article "South Park Creators Build Eco-Friendly Mansion" by The Associated Press, it talks about how the creators of South Park made a nature house in Colorado. The creators had a house built in Steamboat Colorado where some of them could escape from their work and just go into the mountains for a while and just relax with their families or friends. This house is valued at a little less than 5 million dollars and was built in 2007. The house has a ceiling made of Fir timbers from a rail trestle over the Salt Lake and recycled carpet through out the house. It over looks Steamboat ski resort and the whole valley plus when you go outside there is even a Japanese tea house with sliding doors where the workers can go and relax by themselves and meditate or just think about things. Clearly, the makers of south park had a good idea of making this house eco-friendly and were very creative while in the process.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

PLN13

"Deer Creek School shooting victim joking, chatting"
By Karen Auge
In the article "Deer Creek School shooting victim joking, chatting" by Karen Auge, it talks about how an eighth grade student was shot in the back and has been in the hospital since the shooting. Matthew Thieu, a 14 year old student at Deer Creek, was injured in a school shooting and shot in the back. He has been in the hospital since the occurrence and he is sitting up in bed now joking and chatting with the doctors and visitors. His mom says that he is almost back to normal and is dying to get out of the hospital. One man was arrested for this so far and he was a student at Deer Creek in middle school, he is now 32 years old though. This just shows how we can never be to safe because at school you are supposed to feel safe and learn, which is hard with all of these shootings going on. Clearly, you can never take to many precautions for the student’s safety at school.

PLN12


"Keystone Opens With a New Bridge"By Bob Berwyn
In the article "Keystone Opens With a New Bridge" by Bob Berwyn, he talks about how Keystone Ski resort added a new bridge at the base of the mountain near the gondolas. During the summer Keystone built a new bridge over the river at the base of the mountain and it does not sound like much but this is a huge improvement. The mountain biking there was awesome this past summer but since the bridge was not there people who were riding there had to ride about a mile on the main road that leads into Keystone. As you can tell this was pretty dangerous, but no that they have the bridge up it will be a lot safer and quicker to get back on the gondola. It would take a lot longer for skiers or snowboarders to come back on the road because there would be traffic jams and maybe even people walking. This relates to me because I got to watch the bridge get built plus I mountain biked there all summer with my team and we had to ride on that road going back to the lift a bunch of times through out the day and that was the worst part about riding there. Clearly, Keystone will be much more enjoyable for everyone since the new bridge was finished.
Posted by JoshL2013

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

PLN11

"What makes people want to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero?"
By Gary Marcus

In the article "What makes people want to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero?" by Gary Marcus, it talks about how Guitar Hero and Rock Band are some of the stupidest games on the video game market in a while. Gary says that they are some of the stupidest games on the market these days because it makes you feel like you have the power to create the song and that is why people will pay the $60 for some songs on a CD, not including how much the plastic guitar with the buttons costs. It does not even resemble a real guitar there are no strings, no frets not even cords for an amplifier and other additional pieces to change the sound. It also says that it takes not very much skill to do it because robots can ease through all of the songs on expert and you could probably teach a monkey how to play better than most people if you took the time, plus if aliens or other foreign people saw it that it would probably be one of the biggest wastes of time. You download this music from a disc you buy and its on your Xbox or whatever console you have and you cant even bring that music you paid for in the car, to the gym or anywhere you are out of range of the TV. Clearly, these are the least interactive and games that take the least thinking out of any in stores and that they take not very much skill or even effort to play the music on it.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

PLN10

"Police say $83 dollar bandit in custody"
The Denver post

In the article "Police say $83 dollar bandit in custody" by The Denver post, it talks about who the $83 dollar bandit is, his past criminal record and that the police have him in custody. The bandit was identified as Frank Lewis who is 37 years old. He earned this nick name by the odd amounts of money that he demanded when he robbed a bank. He got away with robbing thirteen banks by handing the teller a note which had the demands, instead of holding up the whole bank. The amounts were usually very random like 83 dollars, it would be stupid to rob a bank in the first place because of all the security and video surveillance. Demanding 83 dollars would be an even more ridicules thing to do because no matter how much you get, you will still be charged with robbery or even armed robbery so he should have known he was going to get caught and should have just gone all out and got more just in case he got away with it. This just shows how desperate people are for money no matter the amount and what they will do to get it. Clearly, this was an absurd criminal and needed to be stopped as soon as possible.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

PLN9

"Students helping students"
By Prof Wesch

In the video and article "Students helping students" by Prof Wesch, they talk about helping other students stay in school if they are low on resources. In the video they are selling shirts to raise money for other students who can not afford school very well and the money goes to help other students stay in school in times of need. They helped other students do everything including crossing the street and the funny parallel car parking part. This is a very inspiring video of helping others and what people our age can really do to help the community and people around us. Clearly, these students are helping and putting others before themselves so they are fortunate enough to go to school.

PLN 8

"CTW Action plan"
By Josh L

If people are asked about problems in the world, most people would say world hunger, aids or global warming. There are some other smaller problems at home though that might not change the world but it might change someones outlook on life or on the community. A problem is that firemen and police officers are under paid for what they do an a daily basis. I am going to write a letter to the governor of Colorado to address this problem and get it recognized and see what can be done about it. I am going to put in some of the points and statistics from my essay into the letter to see if i can really open their eyes to this issue.


PLN 7

"Extreme makeover Nata Village"
By The Nata Village blog

In the article "Extreme makeover Nata Village" by the Nata Village blog, it talks about how volunteers constructed a house for a family. In the Nata Village the winters are cold and harsh and the summers are very hot, a family in Nata was living in a makeshift tent built by the mother through all of this. The volunteers built the family a two bedroom house, for the family, with opening and closing windows plus the whole house was made out of brick which should keep the family warm. This was a really great thing to do for the family because of the hard times they were probably going through and it might have been tough on them physically and mentally. They also made two food baskets for the family so they would not go hungry for a while. This was a good way to help people in Nata and people every where should follow in their footsteps to lead by example.

PLN 6

"Lighting dog poop on neighbors porch yields arson charge in Greely"
By Howard Pankratz

In the article "Lighting dog poop on neighbors porch yields arson charge in Greely" by Howard Pankratz, it talks about how a teenage boy lit dog poop on his neighbors porch and got charged with first degree arson. The home owner says he called the police for a noise complaint earlier that night and at four thirty in the morning was woken up by the sound of their door bell. When he walked outside he saw his newspaper covered in flames and the boys in their own backyard picking up poop and walking around with a flash light looking for more. The UNC kids were drinking earlier that night and were charged with possesion of alcohol plus the one kid was charged with arson on top of that. This was a stupid prank to pull because it could have ended up a lot worse off than it did. The flames could have caught onto the house and could have burn down if the homeowner did not wake up in time. They were just trying to have fun but if your put someone else in danger then you should get punished for your actions. Clearly, this was an irresponsible thing to do and could have had the potential to hurt someone.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

PLN5

"Jaywalker struck, killed in Lakewood"
By Howard Pankratz

In the article "Jaywalker struck, killed in Lakewood" by Howard Pankratz, it talks about how a women was hit by a truck and killed crossing the street on Sunday. A middle aged women was crossing a street and jaywalking when she got about half way across and was struck by a Toyota Tacoma on Sunday. When they paramedics got there she was pronounced dead on the scene. There were two cars involved and the driver of the Tacoma said that she stepped out in front of him and he hit here into another car waiting to turn left. This matters because I see teens my age jaywalking all of the time either at school or just on the weekends with friends and people should be more careful of where they cross because she would most likely still be alive if she went out of her way by a couple minutes and used a cross walk. Clearly, crosswalks were put there for a reason and they should be used whenever you are crossing the street.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

PLN4

"Laptops are a waste of time and money"

Computers are definitely not a waste of time or money because they are very useful in the class room and can help the students with almost anything. Sure having a computer for every kid in the class can get very expensive but if you use those computers for years to come then they will be paid off by the school. Students who use computers get to learn like no other generation has because the laptops are getting more affordable and you get to learn much more if you are focusing on a topic. You have an infinite amount of information at your finger tips.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

PLN3

"RTD bus runs light, hits three cars"
By Howard Pankratz

In the article "RTD bus runs light, hits three cars" by Howard Pankratz, it talked about how a bus driver ran a red light and hit a few other motorists putting them in the hospital. Today on the corner of Florida ave. and Sheridan blvd. a bus driver sped through a red light hitting three cars and sending three passengers to the hospital, they said non of the injuries seemed to be life threatening ones and that the victims would be there only over night. The driver of the bus claimed that there were technical difficulties and that the brakes went out before the light, Nobody on the bus was injured during this but they are still investigating on how it really happened. This matters to the whole community because someone could have gotten seriously injured during this especially if there was a pedestrian in the cross walk. One of the comments below the article said that another person was riding the same exact bus a few weeks before and the driver fell asleep at a red light, the passengers had to scream at the driver to wake them up! Clearly, you never know where to watch your back because even the best drivers can have an accident and we should pay attention at the stop lights better.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

PLN2

Change The World Topic PLN

An injustice I picked when we were asked to think about it was, how under paid policemen and fire fighters are paid for what they do. Fire fighters are paid around 50,000 dollars a year and police are paid about 30,000 dollars. They should be paid much more because of what they do for the community and how they risk their lives everyday just to save other people or keep people from getting in trouble. While athletes are paid millions of dollars every year just to entertain people while the workers and heroes of the community are saving lives everyday and are not getting paid even close to what the entertainers are. If there was a lot of crime or people dieing or homes getting burned down in fires there would be nobody to entertain in the long run. People kind of take cops and fire fighters for granted because they are just always there to do the job and nobody thinks twice about it except the people's houses that get saved and lives that get saved. Clearly, police and firemen are undermined in the community and cities and need more rewards and yearly earnings.