The Secret Life of Pets

The Secret Life of Pets is an animated movie directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney and was released in 2016. It features a dog as a main character who tries to cope with a newly adopted dog that was brought into his household. This dog's name was Max, and he had a great relationship with his owner., but when bringing in another dog it completely changed his life.

The new dog (Duke) were left home for the first time since Duke was adopted into their house since the owner had to go to work. Everything was a disaster for Max, it was nothing like his normal day. In the previous night, Duke overheard Max trying to get rid of him which angered Duke and is the reason why they couldn't get along.

Throughout the movie, they must learn to get along as they go through fights with cats, pest control, underground animal gangs, sausage factories, broken bridges, broken furniture and old memories. They even had to have Max's friends come and save them from a mob of angry animals,

In the end, they eventually become friends, even with the animal gangs that formerly wanted to hunt them down. They go through some crazy events such as killing a giant cobra, driving a bus, and almost drowning in a van. This movie, in my opinion, was a very good animated movie as it does teach a lesson to get used to everyone. With this being my opinion, many people must agree as this is the most grossing movie that is not created by Disney!

Arches National Park

Arches National Park is a National Park in Utah which is mainly known for its natural arches hence the name. There are a huge variety of the arches ranging from all different shapes and sizes as well as some broken arches. There are also many trails, high sandstone mountains and interesting rock formations inside the park.

One of the viewpoints was the North Window, South Window, and the Turret Arch. These arches were all close together and had a one-mile round trip trail connecting them. This place is referred to as the Windows Section as there are many arches close together there.The Windows were 2 large similar arches which were connected by a huge rock in the middle. These arches were made of sandstone and you could climb on some parts of the arches to get a better view. The Turret Arch is southwest of the Windows and is a younger and smaller arch than the others around it but one day may join with the arches around it to become a larger arch.

Another place of interest was the Sand Dune Arch. It features many interesting attributes such as the ground being made of sand as well as having many little arches as well as the regular arch inside the cave of the Sand Dune Arch. The sandy bottom is a comfortable feeling; much like you are a beach but looking at arches instead of the ocean.

Delicate Arch is also an attractive tourist place as it is a little arch on top of a mountain. You can either take a long hike up a mountain to get next to it or go on the viewpoint trail to view the arch from a distant mountain. This arch is free-standing and one of the most known arches in the park.
The view from the top is also a bonus for hiking up to the top.

The Landscape Arch is also a very known arch inside the park as it is the longest one in the park. You would have to hike the Devil's Garden trail to get to view it. But, some parts of the Landscape Arch are falling off so some of the trails may be closed now.

There is also an interesting rock formation called "Balanced Rock". This rock was a giant rock which looks to be placed on top of a thin tall rock and seems to be balanced. Who knows if it will fall or not as it looks to be stable.

Overall, Arches National Park is the place to be if you want to see many beautiful arches and hike trails to get to them. You can also drive past the fallen arches and look at many unique rock formations that make this park what it is. 

My MWEE Field Trip

The Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) was a field trip that I have recently been on. It all started when at 9:00, the school called the people that were going on the field trip to the cafeteria. Later, we would board the 3 buses and arrive at our final destination, Hidden Oaks Nature Center. The whole field trip would be split into 4 different parts when at the Nature Center.

The first part of the field trip was in the visitor center. There a presenter came and presented many different animals of Fairfax County. This would include the Eastern Box Turtle, Copperhead Snake, Snapping Turtles and much more. We also got to learn about the different types of benthic macroinvertebrates. They come in 3 different taxa, sensitive to pollution, somewhat sensitive to pollution and not sensitive to pollution.

The second part was when we learned about the Chesapeake Bay watershed as well as the world's total amount of drinking water. We also simulated pollution to the Chesapeake Bay's water by dumping various items into a small bowl of water, each representing a source of pollution.

Part number 3 was when we had to stewardship actions toward the site. We got split up into 2 groups, a group that dug holes and a group that cut down invasive trees, plants, and vines. I felt that this was the most exciting part of the field trip as I was having fun with friends chopping down invasives.

The last section was when we went down to the creek near the Nature Center and tried to catch some benthic macroinvertebrates. We took small nets which we would try to swing around in the water to try to catch some organisms. But, after many failed attempts, I gave up and just watched my friends fail as well.

In conclusion, the field trip wasn't the most exciting one but we could still learn many educational things from it. 

The New Yorker's "A Perfect N.B.A. Season"

An entire N.B.A. season has passed, all being described in The New Yorker's "A Perfect N.B.A. Season". With many comparisons to other styles of television, the article made the N.B.A. seem like the only show on TV, but fulfilling every slot.

At the start, you can relate the astonishing games with highly praised shows such as "The Game of Thrones". It describes Lebron James leading the Cavaliers to victory despite their mediocre coach. The Spurs are also compared to a sci-fi series, barely able to continue being their streak. With similes used to describe how the Bulls were always being followed by their fans. Even the rising young players on the Timberwolves, they were just starting their own hopes and stories to come.

Even though with all the success, the author could also relate to the duds on TV. For example the New York Knicks weren't very successful this season and being described as stuck in the Bermuda Triangle. As well the same fate was happening with the 76ers.

Despite what has all happened, many records and amazing things still happened. The Warriors hit a high in history with seventy-three wins in the season, which is unbelieveable. Steph Curry also passed four-hundred three pointers in his lifetime. In fact he even celebrated half a second before making even more. Kobe even had a phenomenal game with 60 points. Of course, most of the game was just his teammates passing the ball to him, allowing him to show off his "art" But alas, all good things must end as this was his last game of his 12 years in the N.B.A.

Quoting the article,"We can only hope that the playoffs, which begin on Saturday, are half as thrilling." With all the presidential campaigning happening, it's going to be a hell of a ride. 

The author did a great job writing this article with his different structure of writing rather than the normal type of reporting. It was very interesting to read, but took a few minutes to get used to. Many great comparisons were made which allowed better understanding toward the content.

Quickselling

Recently I have started a new hobby which I can profit from called "quickselling". In previous posts, I have talked about games such as CS:GO and Team Fortress 2. In these games, you can purchase cosmetics for you character or to change up your weapon. In CS:GO there is a wide variety of skins or weapon finishes which make your gun look different. These different skins come in different rarities; Consumer Grade, Industrial Grade, Mil-Spec, Restricted, Classified and melee weapons.

In CS:GO you buy keys costing $2.50 each to unbox crates to get skins or to use the keys to trade for skins with other people. To quicksell you must first start off with around 6-8 keys which are equivalent to $15-$20. Then you go on CS:GO trading sites such as www.csgolounge.com and www.csgooutpost.com to post trade offers which may interest people. How you profit is that you only pay 80% of the market price (the Steam Community Market http://store.steampowered.com/). Some people will accept these trade offers and then you will have a skin that you only paid 80% for. People will sell you the skin for 80% of market value as they could have too many skins in stock if they have just won a bet or can't seem to sell their skin.Then you go post another offer selling that skin for full price or 90% of market value. Once someone buys your skin, you will repeat this process over and over until you feel like stopping.

The more expensive the skin is, the more profit you will gain as 20% of a $100 is more than 20% of $1. Eventually, you will create tons of profit but it will take more time if you are starting with fewer keys. What you choose to do with these skins is up to you whether selling it for real money on sites like opskins.com or betting those skins on betting websites in hopes of getting more skins. Remember, you have to be patient and persistent for this to work.

Seeing the Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. were given as a present from Japan in 1912 to symbolise friendship between the two countries. Around 3,000 trees were sent from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo. These trees usually reach their peak around late March to mid-April when they bloom. The trees bloom full of pink flowers on the branches which are a majestical sight. The trees are planted all over D.C. so you can see them for yourselves the next time you visit D.C. during mid spring.

My family and I got to observe the cherry blossoms yesterday. Most of the bloomed all over the tidal basin. Many people were there, some were jogging around the basin, other taking pictures with their phones or professional cameras while the rest of the people were just there enjoying the sight. Besides the cherry blossoms, you could still go and see the other monuments in D.C.

Across the basin where the cherry blossoms were, there was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Also right next to the basin was the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. In other places, there was the Washinton Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Civil War Memorial, tons of museums and much more.

In the end, all of it was a great sight that people could enjoy.

My Skill in Gaming

You may always see me playing video games, but what is my skill level at them? I could be a professional gamer in disguise, playing tournaments at home or a low-skilled noob trying to not die the moment I spawn. Well, my real skill level is just an average player, but there is always room for improvement as I keep on learning new ways to improve my game from watching videos or just having more experience by playing.

Some games that involve no skill like Adventure Capitalist and Clicker Heroes are very easy and just involve time to move forward. Naturally everyone should be good at these games since nothing interesting happens and you just need to reset your progress to move forward. Other games that are more competitive such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2 and Leauge of Legends involve skill and memorization. The more you know how to do something in those games, you should go around and try to master that so you can have a base to start off of.

Puzzle games and story games are also fun and hard because they make you try to finish the entire game while having to think and timing things perfectly to advance to the next portion of the game. As I said I am only an average gamer and my career in the future would probably not be a professional gamer. I play games to pass time, have fun or just be with my friends.

Winter Storm Jonas

In the new year, 2016 we were at the middle-end of January. Suddenly we were all told that a historic winter storm would be coming our way, winter storm Jonas. It was predicted that we would get around 1-3 feet of snow which would also mean no school. The week the storm hit started off with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a student holiday which would mean a 3 day school week. So then we went to school on Wednesday and endured all the pain of school. Surprisingly, snow started to fall Wednesday night which would cancel the rest of the week. Friday was also my birthday which meant I got to stay home and enjoy my birthday. Then the snow was falling even harder which meant that school was also cancelled on Monday and Tuesday. The snow was really tall, around the 2 feet mark.

The days that I was at home because of the snow meant that I would be near my computer a lot. Whether if I was playing video games or doing the homework my teachers assigned me to do. Sometimes my teachers would even assign us work over the internet to make sure that we were caught up one everything.

This winter storm has really changed my schedule this week with me only going to school for one day. Shoveling the snow was a hard job but, my dad had bought a snow blower which made the job faster and easier than just using a shovel. Overall this snowstorm had caused a lot of trouble but it was worth all of the school days missed.