What Do You Know About Beluga Whales?

Did you know that Beluga whales are the smallest specimen of whale? How about that they are related to the Narwhals, the whale with a horn? Well, if you did not know that, I will tell you some more interesting things about Beluga whales. Baby Belugas are called calves, and they are not white, they are usually gray or even brown. They fade into their white skin around 5 years old. Belugas are the size of large dolphins, and they are 13 to 20 feet. Belugas live in small groups called pods. Belugas are very social, and can mimic a variety of sounds. They are usually seen in the Arctic Oceans. Some of them get trapped from the ice bergs and die, but that becomes food for polar bears, killer whales and Arctic people. Belugas have also been overly hunted by fishermen in the Arctic, and that has decreased their population a lot. Belugas eat fish, crustaceans, and worms.

Did you know that the scientific name for belugas is Delphinapterus leucas? Did you know that Belugas are mammals and are carnivores because they like to eat meat? Did you know that they have bulbous foreheads called a melon? Did you know that a Belugas heart can weigh up too 12 pounds? Did you know that Belugas live 35-50 years in the wild? Did you know that the largest male Beluga weighs up too 3,000 pounds, and females weigh up too 1,900 pounds? Well, if you did not I just told you.

Lions

Lions live in groups of 15 or more. This is called prides. Prides can be as small as 3 or as big as 40 animals. In a pride, lions hunt prey, raise cubs, and defend their territory together. In a pride females do most of the hunting and cub raising. Usually all the females in a pride are related. A pride usually has no more than two adult males. The females stay in there pride for life and the males stay in for two to four years. When the males leave the pride, they either lead their own or do everything themselves.

 A males load roar,usually heard after sunset,can be heard from five miles away. The roar warns off intruders and help round up the lions of the pride. Hunting is usually done, in the dark, by the lionesses. They often hunt in groups of two or three. To catch the prey they use teamwork to stalk, surround, and kill their prey. Lionesses are not the most successful hunters,because they usually only kill only one thing after several tries. The males eat first, then the females, and then finally the cubs eat.Males and females try to defend their pride if a lion from a different pride tries to attack their pride.

Lions once roamed Africa, southern Europe, and parts of Asia.  Today lions usually live in Africa.  Unlike most cats, lions are excellent swimmers.  After lions eat, they may not hunt until two weeks later.  Lions can run at a top speed of 36 miles an hour.

This is a pride of lions.

Longest Song on the Top 100's Chart

This week, the rock band Imagine Dragons set a record for the longest run on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart — 77 weeks, since it debuted in August of 2012. The song is Radioactive; it might ring a bell. Some pop critics say this song has religious meaning in it. This might be true because the members of the band are currently practicing at a Mormon church. Also another band that has a song currently in the top 10 is One Republic and their song Counting Stars, that song is currently pegged as a religious song. 

How Much Can Chocolate Hurt a Dog?

How much can chocolate actually hurt dogs?  It really depends on how much they eat and what their wieght is.  A dog can eat 1/10 of their body wieght and we did the same thing, we both would have the same problems.  Those problems can very.  Dogs eating chocolate can lead to vometing, diarrhea, and in extreme cases, herat rates can go up which leads to siezures.

If your dog eats dark chocolate, it can be a lot more toxic.  9 pounds of of milk chocolate can cause siezures to a 20 pound dog can cause siezures.  It only takes 1.5 ounces of bakers chocolate to do that.  Chocolate poisoning shows after 6 to 12 hours after they eat it.

The siezures don't stop unless they are treated.  If this happens, you need to head to an emergency veternarian.  You should also doi this if you your dog is repeatedly vometing.

These are some things that you should look out for if/when your dog eats lots/some chocolate.

Written By:  Claire P.

Ice and snow festival!!!!!!!!

People in northwest China made cool sculptures made out of ice and snow. The had to cut threw18,000 meters of ice and snow. There are replicas in New York and Rome

The Black Death

Warning: Kind of disgusting... Sorry about that.

The Black Death was an extremely deadly disease that infected people nearly 1500 years ago in 1348. It was a bubonic plague, which means that it gave the victims large bumps on their skin that sometimes would pop and ooze pus and blood*. Luckily, The Black Death can no longer be found and will not infect anybody anytime soon. But back then, people would try to avoid getting the disease by breathing herbal leaves and pomander. The worst idea was probably soaking themselves in sewer water*, because the Black Death was coming from diseased animals that were getting into their drinking water.

Oh, and fun fact here: The nursery rhyme "Ring Around the Roses" is actually about the plague. People without the Black Death would put lavender around their children's beds, and the line "ashes ashes, we all fall down" is a nice way to say that people burned the victims that got the Black Death. Whoops.

The Black Death spread all across Europe (Except a place called Cracow, as well as Milan.) in just seven years. As mentioned above, this plague is caused by diseased animals that get into people's water. Now for the science. A species of flea call the rat flea that are infected with a certain type of bacteria called Yersinia pestis. This bacteria travels through the animal, and it dies from being intoxicated, but the creature is still inside the wells that people will drink from. Y. Pestis will then get into the water, and everyone who drinks that water will get the Black Death, then they will give their disease to another person, and then there's a huge chain, spreading rapidly.

There is an estimated death toll that is around 75-200 million people, as told by historian Philip Daileader. Even though this disease was incredibly awful, we can learn from it. Obviously, we don't
want to get anything similar to it, so we can remember to do things to avoid anything like this. No dirty water. Bad, bad dirty water.

*Ew gross.
(Also, I don't really want to include pictures...)

FLYING SNAKES!!!

Scientists have discovered flying snakes.  These snakes don't really fly they jump of a surface and get some really good distance and they go farther when they glide in the air.  snakes are scary the way they are but now snakes have become more intellegent that they are flying so now.

imagine one day your walking in the forest and a snake jumps out of a tree and glides towards you while you are running away and lands on you, that would be scary.  i think this is really
interesting and scary because snakes can glide though the air. 
here the snake is getting ready to start jumping of the tree to glide.

                      here the snake is preparing to spring from the tree to glide and fly

hurray the snake is flying.

How to Take Better Pictures

Nowadays, almost any camera can deliver flawless quality imaging if you know how to operate it. Moreover, you can even create the illusion of professional photos with just a few tips and settings. 

1. Adjust Shutter Speed

One of my favorite features is shutter speed time. The shutter speed is how long it takes for the camera to capture a picture. This is useful for action shots; you can take clear, still pictures without blurring using 1/2000 of a second. 

Or, you can do the complete opposite and exaggerate motion with 1/4 second.

2. Use Focus For Emphasis

Although the focus adjustment feature is helpful for enhancing clarity, it can be used to capture a clear focus point while ignoring everything else. This is not possible on cameras with only autofocus, but on DSLRs, focus can be manually adjusted. It is actually one of the easiest tricks, and can make extreme close ups look like art. In this case, blurring is no unfortunate mistake, rather a way to improve a photo.

3. The Miniature Effect

To make any scene look like it belongs in a diorama, the miniature effect is a very fascinating setting to try out. It focuses on one main point in the image and slightly blurs the rest, resulting in the picture looking like a toy, scaled down version. However, this works only with buildings, vehicles, and scenery captured from a higher point. This is actually an optical illusion.

4. Star-burst Light

Notice all the lights in the image are radiantly shining with rays encircling them. This is the starlight, also known as the star-burst effect. A camera can achieve this effect with simply adjusting the size of the aperture, or opening to let light through, to a larger size. This can be achieved at daytime, as well.

5. Silhouetting Figures

Silhouettes are created by placing the subject between the photographer and the light source. Focus should be on the background and a minimum of light should be let in. This will create a dramatic effect that focuses on the outline of the subject while ignoring the colors and textures.

6. Vivid Coloring

To make photos even more colorful, the vivid effect can exaggerate the pigment brightness of a photo. It results in beautiful, full-color images which have a wide spectrum of hues. 

Those are just a few tips that make everyday photos look spectacular. Remember, photography is art and it is important to be creative with your images. The average picture may be worth a thousand words, though with enough innovation and some editing, it is worth a whole novel.

How a man makes a Iron man suit made of balloons!

A man named Jeff Wright made a iron man suit made of balloons. He is 28 years old and lives in Cleveland. You are able to fit inside the balloon suit. Other people made Teen Age Mutant Ninga Turtles,  Super Mario, Buzz Light Year that you are able to fit inside. He is the first person to make an Iron Man suit. It took him 10 hours and 346 balloons. Peoplethink that it would make a great Halloween costume.

http://www.google.com/imgres?client=tablet-android-samsung&sa=X&hl=en-US&biw=1280&bih=800&tbm=isch&tbnid=SsmE0zxmXM-vsM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Flego-movie-posters-morgan-freeman-charlie-day%2F&docid=UgRMqRFUzn_AhM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flego-movie-poster-charlie-day-benny.jpg&w=1029&h=1500&ei=7lz-UrWNBqjK2wX2hoC4Cw&zoom=1&iact=rc&page=1&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=0CE8QrQMwBw

Do you want to make your own game?

Have you ever wondered what it would it would be like to make your own game? Well now you can with Sploder. Sploder lets you make and create your own game with 5 platforms to choose from:

1. retro arcade game creator
2. platform creator
3. physics puzzle creator
4. 3d adventure creator 
5. classic creator

The easiest one to make is probably the retro creator because it helps you choose backgrounds and other cool stuff.

I interviewed Natasha and she played it with her brother when she was 6 and said it was really fun.

Dudley the Duck gets a 3D prosthetic leg

Action video games help dyslexic people pay more attention.

Scientists have discovered that action games help dyslexic people pay more attention.  How it works is that action games makes the players attention shift constantly. Dyslexic people are still slow to react but little by little the process is working.  I think that this is interesting and I always new video games were good for you.

When dyslexic people are playing the game it takes them a few seconds to react scientists say that dyslexic people are faster to react then way they hear something.

Divergent, as good as the hunger games

Imagine you're 16 you are going to the hub with your faction, abnegation, the abnegation are selfless and they like to  help people. Today your going to decide your fate there are 5 factions:

1. Candor the candor bathe in the rivers of truth and honesty.
2. Dauntless the brave go here but be warned, there not afraid to kill.
3. Erudite the erudite are intelligent people.
4. Amity the amity try to keep the peace they farm and grow.
5. Stay with your faction.

Now that you know about the factions I can tell you about Divergent. Divergent is a book that follows a girl who lives in abnegation when she takes the test to figure out which faction she should be in she finds out that her results are inconclusive and that she is divergent. Being divergent means that you could be in multiple factions. The erudite leader wants to kill all the divergent and that's why the story is so good.

The Update on the Elections in Hillwood

You may know how about the election, but there has been an update.

Sophia is running against Asiana and Mia. She has done some posters and kids are voting for her. Who will win?

Asiana is running against Sophia and Mia. She has some good ideas.

Mia is putting up posters and is really waiting for the answers of who won.

Finn is running against Oliver and he is coming hard. He is making posters and is really hoping to win.

Oliver is telling children to vote for him and he is hoping to crush Finn.

Claire is running for president, she is going against two very smart girls, Natalie and Natasha k. Is she going to win.

Natasha K is running for president too. She has drawn pictures of herself and put then around the school. She is fighting to win.

Natalie is very smart and she has some great ideas about the school and the fun activities.

Natasha J. is going to win as secretary thats because no one is running against her!

Crows are Actually Very Smart

Did you know that crows are very smart? They are actually way smarter than you may think. Crows use small twigs and sticks to get food in the wilderness. An example is that maybe food is in a very small place, maybe they could use a stick to get it out. Crows actually think about doing this when they are finding and getting their food. Scientists think this is really weird that crows use twigs and sticks to get things they want. The crow getting the food is really cool except I would like to know how they do it. In this video a crow is trying to get some grub. He uses the sticks to get the food and drop it in this container. When he has finished doing that he uses this last stick and then he gets the grub.

Canon Pro1 vs. Canon SX510 HS

I recently received the new Canon SX 510 to replace my old Pro1 and have had the opportunity to compare the two. The Pro1 was released in 2004 and was given to me five years ago. I have been satisfied since it delivers quality imaging and video. I have had no problems with it; the camera is indestructible. Due to its age, I have upgraded to the new 510 and have been very pleased with the even-better overall experience. The cameras are pretty similar in appearance, size, and layout.

The SX 510 HS

The Pro1

In terms of speed, the 510 is much faster. Startup times are 3.5 sec. for the Pro1 and 1.7 sec. for the 510. The 510 is also quicker when browsing through images, while the Pro1 is prone to freeze. 

The Pro1 shoots in 8 mp, or megapixels, and the 510 provides a stellar 12.1 mp. For comparison, my iPad camera uses 5 mp. 

Movie quality is hands-down better on the 510 with an 1080p HD option. Pro1 has a mere 480p.

The Pro1 is built like a tank: strong yet heavy. The 510 is practically featherweight light though fragile.

The 510 is easy to use for anyone with or without experience. It's actually hard to take an inferior picture with it. I don't recommend the Pro1 for inexperienced photographers. Due to slow shutter speed and no stabilization, it is harder to take good pictures. 

The 510 is optimized for zooming and can achieve a good, clear 30x. On the other hand, the Pro1 can deliver a fair 7x.

The two cameras are not DSLRs (cameras which lenses can be swapped), though they aren't basic point-and-shoot cameras either. They belong to a small sub genre I usually call "all-in-one DSLRs" (an oxymoron). 

Both are about the size of a deck of cards; they are somewhat transportable.

The screen on the 510 is vivid and clear.

The Pro1 has both a screen and digital viewfinder.

These memory cards are a perfect example of Moore's Law.

The specs of the 510 adjacent to the Pro1. While the 510 is technically a superior camera, the Pro1 was much more advanced for its time. Compared to computers, cameras haven't changed too much in the past ten years. Notice how the 510 scores better in every category.

Comparing the Pro1 and 510 to a D7100 DSLR. Huge difference. The D7100 has 24.1 mega pixels.

Both cameras deliver flawless images which are nearly identical to each other. Either one is a good choice for anyone looking for a portable alternative to a DSLR. These are both stellar cameras; I found after extensive research that they are just about the best of all-in-one cameras available. I recommend either one, for I have decided to keep my Pro1 for nostalgic reasons.

About the Lego Movie!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lego Movie has Lego charactors in it. Some of the Lego people are Darth Vader, Bad Cop, Goood Cop, and Batman. 

Tips on Teaching Violin

Teaching violin can be sort of a struggle.  On your first day you might have no idea what you're doing.  Before the first day you might want to get a few things.  You should get a small note book, stickers, and anything else you might want.  It really depends on what level they are.  The person I'm teaching is younger and is just beginning.  The small notebook is for writing what they might need to work on.  The stickers are for where they might need to put their fingers. 

On the first day you might be a little nervous.  At some points you might not even know what to do and think of something random.  Honestly from personal experience your student might be nervous as well because they don't know what lessons are going to be like.  As lessons go on it will get better.

Another thing you could do is to look up ways to start.  If you are going to do that you need to read a lot.  You should probably do this for a week or even more.  Still depending on who your teaching.  I only looked things up for a day or two. 

These are some tips on teaching violin for beginning violin teachers.  This is just what you could do that I did from personal experience.



Written By: Claire P.

Super Bowl Sunday, The day Of Too Much Food Consumption

Super Bowl Sunday is the second day of too much food consumption apart from thanksgiving. On this particular day many families watch the football game by eating pizza, chips, hotdogs, and burgers with much more like desserts, which can be really bad. Well, not really for companies like Papa Johns, Dominos Pizza, and Pizza Hut. This day is perfect for business they'll make much more money then regular work days. Chicken wings or buffalo wings are also a main snack that people love.

In some commercials you'll see famous athletes saying "drink this it is really good for you".  This is just a scam to get people to waste their money on extra food that they don't need.  It is fun to watch the game but not like that.

Now enjoy these photos.