Holiday Plans

Get a Voki now!
Can't wait for the holidays this year! Going to be tons of fun :] me and my friends are all giving each other gifts and hanging out during break, but I'm also going to spend as much time as possible with my family because they're so much fun to be around<3. During Christmas we have this tradition in which we play games and sit by the fire and tell stories. We usually stuff ourselves from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed. Can't wait! :]

Voki Tech Article- 12/17/10

Get a Voki now!

Voki Project

Get a Voki now!

Tech Article- 12/10/10

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Favorite Thanksgiving Tradition

My Thanksgiving tradition consists of the usual family coming over, eating a ton, and talking/making jokes at the dinner table. Best thing we do after dinner every year is eat a ton of sweets and play a game.

Game- "Name Game"

- Object of the game is to talk and ask as many questions as possible to everyone without saying any of the names at the dinner table. First loser does ALL the dishes.

And yeah, that's my Thanksgiving tradition :]

Tech Article- 11/19/10

Robotic legs a step in the right direction

Thirty years ago doctors told Noboru Matsumoto that he would never walk again. Matsumoto had suffered severe brain injuries after a motorcycle crash. The accident left his speech slurred and unable to walk properly. It was in that movement that Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai saw hope for Matsumoto to defy the original doctor's diagnosis. Professor Sankai is the inventor of the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL), a wrap-around robotic belt and legs. Sensors sit on top of the patient's skin that picks up the brain signals instructing the body to move. There are 140 HAL suits in use in Japan, renting for just under $2,000 a month. Professor Sankai is in the final stages of bringing the suits to Sweden and Denmark and is hoping to one day introduce the suits to the U.S., to help the aging baby boomers.

Click here for video.

Google Reader

Google Reader is considered to be one of the best RSS readers. It is amazing in the way that it does not spam, it gives you automated news, and customization. If you have a Google Reader you will NOT receive any spam messages, you will receive instant information and news updates, and you will only get information about the things you are interested in, nothing else. Google Reader is helpful in my academic and personal life because I am a very organized and enjoyed being informed about the things that most interest me, which aren't always easy to find information on. Google Reader is an amazing way to organize files and data. Google Reader will definitely go on with me even after this class because not only is it an easy way to organize myself for all my classes, but it also allows me to be updated on my favorite things [i.e photography, animals, and new scientific discoveries].

Syndication

These are the websites I visit on a regular basis:

Facebook
Tumblr
 GivesMeHope
Taste of Awesome
Youtube


RSS Feed Sites

AOL

Mozenda

ABC

Tech Article- 11/12/10

Hypertexting/Hypernetworking risks

A new study by the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine links  poor health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and sexual activity to hypertexting and hypernetworking. The study defines hypertexting as sending more than 120 text messages per school day. Hypernetworking is spending more than 3 hours per school day on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. These are what recent studies show:

Teens who are hypertexters are:

- Nearly 3.5 times more likely to have sex

- 40% more likely to have tried cigarettes

- 90% more likely to report four or more sexual partners

Teens who are hypernetworkers are:

- 60% more likely to report four or more sexual partners

- 69% more likely to be binge drinkers

- 84% more likely to have used illicit drugs

Click here for video.

Tech Article- 11/3/10

iPhone gives Europe extra hour of sleep

Late to work this morning? Forget those excuses about traffic jams or Halloween hangovers. You might be able to blame your iPhone. Reports from Europe suggest a bug in the iPhone's alarm app caused it not to adjust to the end of Daylight Saving Time in that part of the world. Consequently, people in Europe have been tweeting like crazy about waking up one hour later. Daylight Saving Time ended on Sunday in Europe, causing clocks to reset one hour earlier. Reports suggest recurring iPhone alarms did not adjust to the new time. The time change does not go into effect until November 7 in the United States and no-alarm clock problems have been reported here. Earlier in October, websites in Australia reported an iPhone software bug caused alarms to go off an hour earlier than they expected.

Want to see the angry tweets? Check them out


Jokes on this issue by tweeters:
Number 1
Number 2

Tech Article- 10/29/10

Sears' site gets zombie makeover

Sears' site which features blood-splattered corpses in place of the living models who usually grace the department store's homepage, even offers a zombie gift guide. "Find something your zombie will live and drool over for ages," it says. The gift guide invites customers to "check the appropriate box:" Is your zombie female or male? Is he slow, cranky, hungry, or all of the above? And don't forget brain preference -- chilled, runny, boiled, or a la mode? Ads for clothing, electronics, and jewelry are also being zombie-fied. Some ads include the sayings, "Revive your style," and "Accessorize like the living." A popular ad for washing machines has also improved sales rates  11.9%. The ad states that Kenmore washing machines can get rid of "brain stains." Many people are becoming hooked to these fun little ads and sales are currently sky-rocketing for Sears'.

 

Check out Sears' home page! 

Tech Article- 10/22/10

Rapleaf is selling your identity

Rapleaf knows your name, your age and where you live. It knows your e-mail address, your income and what social networks you use. It knows your likes and dislikes. And it makes money by selling much of that personal information to advertisers. The security concerns are far-reaching. Building databases about customers is hardly a new business, nor is it illegal. Information is becoming far more precise because it's one thing for a marketer to know you're 40 years old and subscribe to travel magazines; it's another for them to know you're leaving Saturday for a week in Italy. "What's different is that the information now is likely going to be accurate and specific, because it's coming from social networks like Facebook where you represent yourself as you really are," said Debra Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer "What I'm worried about is health information and your life getting stolen from you. That moment of reckoning is coming."

Check out this video

My weekend -______-

So, my weekend was horrible. I was sick the WHOLE time and I'm still sick. Friday I stayed home from school and did absolutely nothing, but sleep and eat soup? Ugh, my Saturday was boring. I, again, did nothing. And Sunday was probably the worst day. I got into an argument with my friend and yeah...we still haven't made up. Not the best weekend as you can see.

Tech Article- 10/13/10

The internet kills Gap's new logo

Gap Inc. on Monday announced it will drop a new version of its logo, a logo the clothing retailer has used for more than 20 years. The new logo featured a white background, black letters and a small blue square in the top right corner. After the company proposed the new logo on its website on October 4, the internet lit up with snotty comments about the new look. "It reminds me of the old Microsoft Free Clip-art galleries," one Facebook user wrote. Another wrote, "It totally looks like a powerpoint design!" The company responded with a Facebook post of its own on Monday, "OK. We've heard loud and clear that you don't like the new logo" the company said. "We've learned a lot from the feedback. We only want what's best for the brand and our customers." More than 1,700 people clicked that they "liked" that decision. After the logo complaints started rolling in, Gap decided they would "crowdsource" the design of its brand, meaning it would take alternate suggestions from fans and might decide to use one of them, but on Monday the company said that idea didn't work either because they didn't feel crowdsourcing was truly them. For now, the company is going to keep their old logo, but will change it in the future.


Going above and beyond :]

My long weekend :]

My long weekend was great. Friday I went out with friends and got ice cream and did a bunch of fun stuff. We took pictures and walked all around Wood-Ridge. Saturday I went to the WR football game and it was awesomeeee[:. Both teams put in great effort! Sunday I basically just relaxed and did homework. I went on the computer and texted the whole day -_____-. So yeah, that was my weekend.

Tech Article- 10/7/10

Ipad makes electronics product history

 Some people still doubt the iPad's chances for success, but current sales rates suggest that the device could rank among top consumer electronics categories within a year. Consumers are adopting the iPad faster than any other consumer electronics device, including the iPhone."The iPad did not seem destined to be a runaway product success straight out of the box," said McGranahan in a recent note to investors, acknowledging the many criticisms about the iPad's lack of certain features at launch. The iPad's current sales rate is approximately 4.5 million units per quarter. If the current rate persists, the iPad could become a $9 billion per year business, blowing right past game consoles and cell phones to become the fourth largest consumer electronics category. 

Tech Article- 9/31/10

'Zeus Trojan' zaps $3 million from bank accounts

An international cybercrime ring was broken up Thursday by federal and state officials who say the alleged hackers used phony e-mails to obtain personal passwords and empty more than $3 million from U.S. bank accounts. The U.S. Attorney's Office charged 37 individuals for allegedly using a malicious computer program called Zeus Trojan to hack into the bank accounts of U.S. businesses. "This advanced cybercrime ring is a disturbing example of organized crime in the 21st Century -- high tech and widespread," New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. Prosecutors said the malware was typically sent as an "apparently-benign e-mail" that embedded itself in the victims' computers once it was opened."The Zeus Trojan allegedly allowed the hackers, from thousands of miles away, to get their hands on other peoples' money," said FBI Assistant Director Janice Fedarcyk."But their scheme didn't eliminate risk," she added. "Like the money mules, many, if not all, will end up behind bars."

Algebra! :D

So, Algebra is one of my favorite classes this year because I have Mr.Benun, one of my favorite teachers since the 7th grade. Mr.Benun actually makes class fun with a few jokes here and there, but overall he's a great teacher! He really helps you to grasp the material and offers extra help to anyone who needs it. Recently all we've been doing is reviewing. Right now we are centered on fractions because that proves to be the most challenging for some people in class.

Spanish class is my favorite :]

Spanish class is my favorite class because of the fact that I'm Latin. I grasp and understand the material easily and quickly. I'm in a mixed class of sophomores, juniors, and seniors because I'm in Spanish 2. Next year I'm aiming for Spanish 3. So, recently we've learning about verbs. Here's a video that served a lot of help to my friend and I on for our quiz:

What I did over the weekend :]

So, I had the most amazing weekend ever. Saturday was pretty dull, but the weather was absolutely amazing. Wish the weather was like that more often =/ bleh. Sunday was great though<3. Celebrated my best friend's birthday at the park with a few close friends. It was the Blvd. park and all we basically did was get pizza and drown ourselves with sugar. We played in the park like little kids and it amazed me how much fun someone could have when surrounded by just a few really cool people. All five of us played around and took pictures and laughed the whole time<3. And yeaaah...that was my weekend :D

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo344/ShyF/62367_1547720047480_1069439169_1534225_5890841_n.jpg

Coooool kids :]

Tech Article- 9/24/10

An Adobe Rollercoaster

Shares of Adobe Systems plummeted Wednesday after the software developer indicated that sales and earnings for its next quarter might fall short of expectations. Shares of Adobe fell more than 20% from Tuesday's close and at one point hit $25.81, a new 52-week low. However, things turned around when shares of Adobe jumped higher earlier this month, following news that Apple had loosened its grip on app development for its mobile devices. That move was expected to open the door for users to use tools from Apple's rivals -- most notably Adobe's Flash -- to build software for Apple's iPhones, iPads and iPods. Jeff Gaggin, an analyst at Avian Securities, added that the steep drop in Adobe's share price may make the company more attractive to firms that might be eyeing it for a takeover -- such as Google. 

Link to article: http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/22/technology/adobe_stock/index.htm

About Me

Hey, the name is Shyan. I'm 14 and I'm a freshman. I love sports, but I can't work on a team? -_____-. Cuban and Puerto Rican :D, I look Italian though? :/ Hmm..I'm really nice once you get to know me, so don't hesitate to say hi :].