Nonfiction/Opinion Writing

Today I chose not to write about Dornob, but to write about a different article instead.Miss Judy sent my mom an article you can find at http://newsroom.cumc.columbia.edu/blog/2014/08/21/children-autism-extra-synapses-brain/. It’s from Columbia University Medical Center and is titled “Children with Autism Have Extra Synapses in Brain: Maybe possible to prune synapses with drug after diagnosis.” This new drug basically makes autism “treatable,” as they said multiple times in the article. The pill cures something that me and other autism kids (I have high functioning autism which is called Aspergers) don’t have, autography (a Greek term for self-eating), without that, kids with autism always have extra synapses, which are not able to be eaten by our own body as we get older, so we are more prone to be disturbed by the things that Aspie and autistic kids are. The thing is, the drug you take has “side effects,” and I don’t know what the “side effects” are. They could be really bad, but the article didn’t say. My mom would never give me a pill for being an Aspie. It’s what makes me more special and smarter.

Reasons I would not want to take the new medicine to treat my Aspergers.:

1. The side effects are definitely bad probably.

2. I’ve already been desensitized from sound and light because my mom took me to places like sirk do solay circus and roller derby where it was really loud and had bright lights. At first, she would cover my ears so I wasn’t so loud then gradually hold her hands on lightly until she didn’t gave to do it at all. If parents just keep kids like me away from loud noises and bright lights, they’ll never get used to it. I still do t like certain noises that don’t bother other people, like the sound of someone turning the corner of a page of paper.

3. Me being logical and smart and really thinking about kits of extra things is who I am! I don’t want someone to take that away from me!

4. One of the good parts of being an Aspie is my intellect and my interest to learn!

5. There is always a way to do something that you can take a pill for, and there are no side effects and if you take some time to do it, there will always be a better end product.

6. I’ve gotten through Aspergers without taking one pill, and if there are all these negatives, then I want to keep it that way!

7.Most of the University tests have been on mice with autism, but it may have a different effect on me or you!

The good things about this drug.

1. If someone has severe Autism, then it could take forever to get the natural end. Sometimes quick can be better.

2. If the person you’re dealing with can’t even talk to you, you better hope that those “side effects” aren’t too bad!

9/11 Oral History Rough Draft

This is a VERY rough rough rough ( practically scratchy!) draft. I mostly just listed what everyone said in their responses to my questions. I haven’t added my opinion at the end yet. There were SO MANY different opinions that it was hard to organize them. My mom is going to help me get it better organized. She said it’s more of a list than an essay but a good place to start. We will work on revising and editing next. This may be full of errors, but she said that’s ok as long as I got the “content” down. So PLEASE don’t judge it now. Wait for the final essay please.

Today I watched a more in detail movie about 9/11. I learned that the war on terror was a war for money, oil, and selling oil for money. I learned that George W. Bush avoided the people who gave him more money, even though they were the people who destroyed the twin towers.

Before I talk about the emails I got, I would like to thank everyone who emailed me their answers. (Thank you!!!) I got an email from 3 people in NC, 1 in NY, 6 in FL, 1 in CT, 1 in WA, and one in TX.

I’ve never seen the world trade center, but some people have. 10 people haven’t but only 3 have. Specifically, Aunt Kristin went to Windows of the World in the World Trade Center every year at Christmas time until 1984. (Because Kristin has a twin sister, they thought that the “Twin Towers” were theirs!) After 9/11, some more people wanted to go to the new building/memorial. 6 still didn’t, 2 want to, 5 did. Poppa went there recently in March 2014 and saw the memorial and the new building almost complete. Jamie walked by the memorial in 2011 and saw a picture of the finished building of the world trade center.

There were a lot of different people in different areas, (In the morning of September 11th) there were five people who were in work, four at school, (some teaching some in classes) one of them visited family members, and one was at the gym, one at home, and one playing golf. Everyone heard about the world trade center somehow. 11 people heard about it from the TV, 2 from the radio, 1 person heard it by someone else telling them, 4 found out from co-workers, and 2 from teachers. Kristin, when she heard, told her dad and everyone else in her family in New York at the time. Thankfully, her dad got them all out of the city in time before they didn’t let people go in or out of the state.

A lot of people had some long answers, and I would love to type them individually but that would make a too long essay. I will put them into my own words, and tell you when there is two of something. One person thought there was no change in their life, II people think the world/U.S. is less secure, II people think it is not as safe, one person doesn’t fly any more, and also thinks the way the government went against the 4th amendment, one person thought that terrorism really became a real threat, one person thinks that power and greed have caused people to hate each other, one person thinks that our freedoms have been taken away from us, one person thinks that we are more attentive to world wide news events, one person thinks that people engage into more conversations about national security and worldwide terrorism, one person thinks that they are more in tune with people’s desire for retaliation and revenge, one person thinks that there is an enemy who want to destroy us, one person thinks that there are more government regulations, one person thinks that we must be more alert and defensive, one person thinks that now you have to be more vigilant of your surroundings, one person thinks that there is heighted security, two people think that there is less privacy, two people think that wire tapping and storing other cell phone data is wrong, one person is angry about the unanswered questions about 9/11, one person is upset because the government didn’t provide healthcare to the first responders, one person is sad about all of the lost lives, one person thinks that we are fighting terrorist battles everyday, in Iran, in Iraq, Afghanistan, in an attempt to instill regulated democracy instead of dictator rule.

Three people think that there is much more military involvement in civilian lives, three other people think that the world is no longer safe after the 9/11 attacks, and 2 people think that the airport security is so much worse, one person thinks that people are willing to die to hurt others, one person thinks that we are now on edge, one person thinks that America has really changed after the twin tower being destroyed, one person thinks that the world has really changed because of the patriot act, one person thinks that terrorism is much more real after 9/11, one person thinks that travel is now unsafe, two people think that all nations are now under threat from jihad terrorists, one person thinks that we are now controlled by a unified global Christian mafia police state (Us and other select allies) that will stop at nothing to convert all infidels, one person thinks that the US is now stronger and more unified against a common enemy-Al Qaeda, one person thinks that it has caused more racism, greed, tension, war, and distrust in the world, one person thinks that there is a better appreciation for the global impact of terrorism, one person thinks that US no longer holds themselves apart and from the rest of the world

Two people think that People are willing to hurt others, two people think, “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”-Winston Church, one person thinks, “those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” –Thomas Jefferson, one person thinks that 9/11 is a big global history, one person thinks that terrorism is a new form of warfare, one person thinks that wars are developed after 9/11 still being fought and changing, one person thinks that we need to know what is occurring all over the world, one person thinks that the tragedy was used for political leverage in American governmental policy and strategy and we should know this to keep a close eye one the government, one person thinks that kids need to know potential threat and who the enemy is, one person thinks that they should remember and pay respects to the innocent people who died, one person thinks that kids should realize that the primary concern of life is survival in a world gone mad, one person thinks that they should know how to survive as a race not just from terrorist attacks but from ourselves, one person thinks that global problems that arise from distorted perception and over consumption. “If we do not save the environment, then whatever we do to civil right will be of no meaning because we will have the equality of extinction.” –James Farmer, Jr, one person thinks that just like the holocaust it is a tragedy that should be discussed with children rather than just swept under the carpet, one person thinks to teach kids to question everything and not believe everything in what the news or media tells them, one person thinks that they should understand the world they live in and the issues in it, one person thinks that knowledge is power, one person thinks that young people need to understand issues so the can make the world a better and safer place to live, one person thinks that to know the struggles of others past and present because it keeps us empathetic, humble, and even more proud of those who were able to survive, those who died saving others, and those who died for what they believed in – our heroes in history, one person thinks that humans have both an amazing and terrible impact on the world, one person thinks that our constitution and the freedoms it allows and protects is under attack by radical Muslims who want to impose their evil ideology throughout the world, one person thinks that 9/11 was a cowardly act against innocent civilians as a means of expressing there intensions to destroy all non-believers as infidels in their attempt to rule the world, one person thinks that to understand and appreciate the foundations of our freedoms so that 9/11 is properly understood as a direct challenge to own our way of life, as imperfect as it may be.

My Solar System Project

We painted our planets and the sun with a base coat. Next we will paint them the right colors and make a ring for Jupiter. Then we will cut them open at the end and show what they are made up of. Here is what I discovered about the contents of the planets.

The planet order from the sun from closest to farthest is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and last is Neptune.

In our earth, the crust consists mostly of oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and iron.

In Mars, the 10 most abundant elements are oxygen, silicon, iron, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, aluminum, sodium, potassium, and chlorine

In Jupiter, the most abundant elements are carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur

In Neptune, the most common elements are hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia

I found the following information on the same website, http://www.universetoday.com, but this is mostly how they said it:

“Uranus is the second least dense planet in the solar system, indicating that it is made up mostly of ices. Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, which are composed predominantly of hydrogen and helium, Uranus contains only a small portion of these light elements.”

“Using various methods of testing, scientists believe that Saturn is composed of 96% hydrogen, 3% helium, and 1% various trace elements that include methane, ammonia, ethane, and hydrogendeuteride. Several of these gases can be found in gas, liquid, and molten states as you descend into the planet. Nuclear fusion converts hydrogen into other elements.”

“The sun is also composed of about 26 percent helium and trace amounts of other elements — oxygen, carbon, neon, nitrogen, magnesium, iron and silicon. These elements are created in the sun’s core, which makes up 25 percent of the sun.”

“The planet mercury,although smaller and closer to the Sun, is believed to contain most of the same elements found on Earth, but in different quantities. About 70% of Mercury, including its core, is thought to be iron, and about 30% various silicate compounds (silicon and oxygen). The lack of oceans means there is much less hydrogen. The lack of an atmosphere means that there is comparatively little nitrogen. And the lack of living organisms means that there is likely far less carbon. Atoms of these lighter elements may be blown away from the planet by the action of the solar wind.”

“Venus is made up of a central iron core and a rocky mantle, similar to the composition of Earth. Its atmosphere is mainly made up of carbon dioxide (96%) and nitrogen (3%), with small amounts of other gases.”

Now when the planets are dry, we can cut them open, and I’m going to use colored tissue paper to create the crusts (if a planet has one), cores, and mantles inside of them. I am going to show my Cub Scout patrol my solar system project and talk about it to earn my Astronomy pin!!! After our den meeting tomorrow, we are going to a park and using telescopes to identify constellations. It’s called a “Star Party!” The “Big Gas” planets will be mostly empty obviously. We only had tiny brushes and a little paint, so Miss Meredyth is bringing us paints because she paints art all the time. She is like my mom’s sister, and so Haddie and Emma are like my cousins. They are the ones I went to the movies with to see The Boxtrolls movie and met my new friend Roman. This is Haddie (Left) and Emma (Right) on tacky day at school! They go to a church private school because Emma needs Jesus in her life a lot her mom says. 🙂

Tonight, I’m going to play another game of chess with Debrin. I have to play 5 games, be able to identify each piece and what it does, like how it moves, and be able to set up the board right. That’s to get my belt loop. I have to do more stuff to earn my pin, like solve specific chess problems. I’m going to hopefully get a really cool chess set when I earn my pin. I found this one made of Legos I really like!

Mom and I did a Math Jam for Art of Problem Solving. They did some problems and showed their online class some. We got to ask questions too. The guy who does the videos is in the picture below and wrote the textbook is a math genius, he’s really funny and I may be able to take the online pre-algebra 2 class in February once my mom and I finish pre-algebra 1 that is the first half of my textbook. Pre-algebra 2 is the second half of my book which gets harder. This guy makes it fun and easy to do. It’s like $285 for the online class, so Mom said it would depend on our financials after Christmas.

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