Sleep Deprivation Leads to Weight Gain

"Does sleep loss up weight by lowering energy use?," by Natasha Allen. May 13, 2011.

If you're not getting the right amount of sleep each night, what you're doing is affecting your metabolism badly. Less sleep will result in the body using less energy. It promotes weight gain and slows down the rate at which calories burn. So, get your sleep!

Why go to the Store When You can Pick Leaves and Make Your Own Clothes?

"Weedrobes: Artist creates stunning garments from fruit, weeds, flowers," by Yahoo!Green. May 9, 2011.

Money is not the only thing that's green. Look at what you can creatively do with plants!

Planes are Great Lightning Conductors

"Video shows dramatic footage of lightning striking jet above Heathrow airport," by Chris Lehmann. May 12, 2011.



Chris Dawson's observant eyes enabled him to correctly predict the weather conditions over London's Heathrow Airport. He said that the clouds were gathering, and that lightning would have to appear in such weather conditions. Looking up at the sky, Dawson recorded a video of a lightning striking at the airplane. Luckily, because the plane is made out of metal, lightning was able to pass through the airplane without harming the 500 passengers on board.

A Zoo in a Suitcase

"Baby leopards, bear found in bags at Thai airport," posted by the Associated Press. May 13, 2011.

A first-class 36-year-old United Arab Emirates passenger had two leopards, two panthers, an Asiatic black bear, and two macaque monkeys in his suitcases. Authorities arrested the man at Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand is known for illegal wildlife trafficking.

Reflection on the AP Statistics Exam

Yup, today was THE day, and I am absolutely brain-dead. For one thing, I'm super glad that AP Statistics is finally over. At the same time, however, I'm a bit sad that senior year is approaching to an end... and I feel that Statistics should continuously be learned for some reason I don't know. Haha. It's quite a challenging, time-consuming class, but also the most useful math course I've ever taken. From all that we've prepared for, I had complete confidence for the very first time that I'll definitely pass the exam thanks to Ramaswamy's teachings. After-school study sessions were a complete drag, as I tended to burn out at the end of the day, but it was worth it in the long run. Over a month's worth of review in these study sessions (it would last from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.) has definitely changed my work ethic, and never have I ever worked this hard in my life. Ramaswamy even gave us work on Mother's Day:


"Earnest Note: I am aware that this Sunday is Mother's Day. It is an unfortunate NECESSITY that we work for ~2.5 hours this Sunday. This is the FINAL WEEKEND before the AP Exam. So, have a sense of perspective. This is what we've been preparing for ALL year.

I'm SURE that your mothers shall APPRECIATE that you're studying hard TO MAKE HER PROUD."


That's sooooo Ramaswamy... but stuff like this doesn't bother or annoy me anymore. It became the norm.

How well did I do on the multiple-choice questions? Okay, I guess. They were easier than the ones hand-picked from Ramaswamy. What about the FRQs? Oh, dear. I probably did less than okay, but by following the strategies that he gave us, I managed to get most of the job done, hopefully boosting my score to get that 4 or 5. If I had only studied more on the "AP Stats Bible," as Ramaswamy would say, I would have most likely had done better on the test.

Should Osama Have Deserved a Better Burial?

"Even a monster such as Osama Bin Laden deserved a better burial, say city Muslims," by Jake Pearson. May 4, 2011.

After Osama was killed by American troops, his corpse was dumped into the ocean. New York Muslims agree with the fact that Osama was, indeed, a bad man and disapproved of his beliefs, but they also think it's wrong to just dump his body into the ocean. They believe that he should've been given a proper burial.

Oldest Newlyweds

"At 100 and 90, world’s oldest newlyweds aren’t slowing down," by Zachary Roth. May 6, 2011.

I guess it's never too late for love? Rose Pollard, 90-years-old, said that she'd marry Forrest Lunsway on his 100th birthday, and she did! Forrest has done all the smoking and drinking, and he attributes his longevity to not having a desk job. Before their marriage, they met together back in 1983 and dated since then.

A Family's Huge Burden

"A look at the lesser-known bin Ladens," by Phoebe Connelly. May 6, 2011.

What most people didn't know is that Osama was born into a rich family who initially had nothing, and suddenly became Saudi royal family's most trusted construction contractors. After Osama became a devout Muslim at the age of 13, he was officially disowned by his family at the request of the Saudi government. Carmen bin Laden is married to Osama's brother, Yeslem. As the sister-in-law, she finds it difficult to carry the family name because of Osama's actions, all of which goes against her and her daughters' beliefs.Osama's brother Khalil owned a mansion in Florida and had vacationed there with his family before the 9/11 attacks. After the tragedy, he and his family had to flee and went under police protection under fear of reprisals.

Rebirth of the Torture Question

"The Death of bin Laden and the Rebirth of the Torture Question," by Osha Gray Davidson. May 4, 2011.

John Yoo thinks that while Obama can take the credit for the success of Osama Bin Laden's death, the soldiers should deserve more credibility for making the tough decisions. Had it not been for Bush's policies and his administration, they would have never caught Osama, according to this article. "The use of torture [under the Bush administration]... has been vindicated by bin Laden’s death." Was the use of waterboarding implemented in the torture process? Not according to Obama administration’s deputy national security adviser, John Brennan. According to the 9/11 Commission, KSM was tortured through waterboarding in order to leak and valuable piece of information. He provided Bin Ladens' courier's name, only to be found out later that it was a fake under standard interrogation techniques.

Boyfriend Guilty in Burned-body Slaying

"Boyfriend guilty in burned-body slaying," by Sarah Burge. May 2, 2011.

A 45-year-old was charged for manslaughtering his girlfriend after coming home late, drunk. Authorities suspect the murderer to have dragged his girlfriend's body into the trunk of his SUV, dumped her behind a gym while she was covered with gasoline and set on fire. Prosecutor Brandon Smith said that the girlfriend made a mistake by being involved with her boyfriend and exchanging text messages with her ex-boyfriend and the night she died.