PLN 22

November 27, 2007

For my 22nd PLN I read an article from "ESPN" about Redskins Safety, Sean Taylor, being shot and killed yesterday. Taylor was at his home in Miami when someone broke in and shot him in the upper leg. Neither his girlfriend nor his one year old daughter was injured in the shooting. Taylor was sent to the hospital and died early this morning. Taylor was only 24 years old and was loved by many people. Early in his career he got in trouble a few times but his team mates said he was a changed person after his daughter was born.

This article relates to me because I really admired Sean Taylor. He was a great safety and seemed like a really nice guy. It is extremely sad that players like Taylor and Darrent Williams are subject to the violence that people cause around them. It is sad when anybody loses their life but I find it even more sad when someone who has worked their whole life to be in such and admired position is killed, especially when they are so young. This article relates to the world because it shows people how dangerous it is to be in a powerful or admired position. When you are famous and well known there are sometimes people who want to harm you and it shows when tragic events like this happen.

PLN 21

I read an article from "The Rocky Mountain News" about a man who saved his pets from his burning home on Thanksgiving Day. The man was using antifreeze in his basement and it caught fire from the water heater. He put his dogs in the yard and got his two cats from upstairs. He then went out onto the roof and jumped off to the ground.

I think it is amazing that this man was able to save his pets and exit his home safely. I think it is weird that antifreeze would ignite that easily. It turns out that the solution he was using was 100% antifreeze instead of the 20% it was supposed to be. That caused it to ignite so easily and probably caused the fire.

This article relates to me because if I were ever in a fire I know I would go back and try to save my dog. It is amazing that this man got all of his pets and himself out of the house. The article relates to the world because it fires happen all the time and this mans story is a good example of what to do if it happens to you. He stayed calm, called 911, and saved what he could.

PLN Presentation Evaluation 1

I think I did fairly well on my first presentation. I was a little nervous and I'm sure it showed. I know next time I need to speak up more and maybe be a little more prepared. I forgot to ask my question at the end which won't happen again and I also was not aware that we had to relate the articles we were talking about. I also think my presentation was a little too short. I could've explained my articles a little bit more but overall I believe I did a pretty good job. I will fix these things for the next presentation I do and I'm sure I'll be less nervous next time.

PLN 20

Today I read an article from "ESPN" about Stephan Marbury being fined $195,000 for missing a game last Tuesday. Marbury got mad after coach Isaiah Thomas told him he would receive less playing time. He decided not to go to the game versus the Suns and was fined $195,000. When asked about his starting position he said, "Isaiah has to start me, I've go so much [stuff] on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can [get] me. But I'll [get] him first. You have no idea what I know." Thomas wasn't too worried about Marbury’s behavior. He has been known to be hot headed and Thomas said as long as he continues to do what he is asked, he will play.

I think this is a very interesting article. It shows how some players think they are so good that when they get upset, they let their whole team down. As I said in a previous article, there has to be better role models for kids. Michael Jordan was a man of great character, he was one to look up to. People like Marbury should not be idolized. Their behavior shows they think they are pretty hot stuff and that is not what kids should think is cool. If a kid sees players acting like this, they will think it is ok to be conceded and it is most certainly not. This article relates to me in just this way. I look up to a lot of athletes and when they act inappropriately, I think about if it was justified or not. One of my favorite players on the Broncos is Brandon Marshall. He got arrested for driving intoxicated and that was his mistake. He was wrong to do that but I think that is a forgivable mistake. At least he didn't get angry and let his whole team down by skipping a game. This idea also relates to the world. I think maybe we should try to only televise when players do something good, not when they act like complete fools.

PLN 19

I read an article from "Car and Driver" about a new hybrid concept car. Fisker Automotive plans to debut their new vehicle at the International Auto Show this January in Detroit. They plan to come out with this car at the end of 2009 and plan to sell about 15,000 of them per year. The asking price for this car will probably be around $80,000. The thing that makes this particular vehicle so special is that it is a new type of hybrid sedan. Its technology is so advanced that it can travel up to 50 miles on a single electric charge, using no gas. Fisker claims that it will get almost 100 miles per gallon and will have a range of about 620 miles on a single tank of gas.

I think it is great that we are coming up with cars that are better for the environment and our wallets. It is amazing to me that there can be a car like this, yet people still buy Hummers that get about 9 miles per gallon. This article directly relates to me because my dad will most likely be getting a hybrid sedan when he gives me his car. It is good to know that some cars are that efficient. This article relates to the world because, with the technology we have these days, cars could improve even more than this. Eventually we could all be driving cars that get 200 miles per gallon and it would save money and gas.

PLN 18

I read another article from "The Rocky Mountain News" about Chatfield High School being locked down because of a pellet gun. A student was seen with a gun on Thursday and the school was immediately locked down. The gun turned out to be an Airsoft gun which shoots plastic bee bees and is practically harmless. The two boys involved were detained but they don't think the boy pointed the gun at anyone.

I think this is a pretty important story. The safety in high schools needs to be a sure thing. I think there are too many incidents with danger on high school campuses. They could try to increase security and see if that helps and if not I don't know what we will do. I just think that the safety of young kids is worth a few more security guards.

This article relates to me because I don't want to feel unsafe when I am at school. Hopefully an incident like this won't happen at my school but if it does I'm sure the proper measures would be taken to prevent anyone from getting hurt. This article relates to the world because there are scary situations like this all over the place and people could try to keep it from happening everywhere.

PLN 16

I read an article from "The Denver Post" about a Halloween party that got out of hand early this morning. There was a party in Kimberly Hills Trailer Park where dozens of people were at one house. When asked to leave, one man pulled out a gun, the owner of the house then got his own gun and returned fire. Five people were shot and injured and taken to the hospital. The police think the shootings may be gang-related because this house has been a problem before. A 15 year old boy was shot to death only a few miles away earlier that night.

This article relates to me because it really shows me hat I have to be careful when I am at parties. You have to know when to leave if you think things might get crazy. The boy who was killed was just a little bit older than me. I think that is very sad that young kids are being exposed to violence because of irresponsible people at parties. This article really made me think about how important it is to be aware of what is going on at parties and to know when to get out of there. This article relates to the world because it may cause the police to try and monitor holiday parties a little bit more when they are in bad neighborhoods. It is sad that such a young kid lost his life and I think people will try to do things to try and help.