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.

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.

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.