What Should a Billionaire Give - and What Should You?

Peter Singer wrote the article "What Should A Billionaire Give - and What Should You?" in The New York Times Magazine. The article is about people, like Bill Gates mentioned in the article, that have billions of dollars to spend or give, and that give around $30 billion dollars to foundations or charities. Bill Gates founded the Gates Foundation, where the money from the foundation goes to children who are sick or dying from the virus called rotavirus. Investor Warren Buffet pledged $31 million dollars to the foundation, along $6 million to other charitable foundations. I believe that the author of this article, along with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, are believers of philanthropy, because they see that there are people among us that are dying in the world. Nearly 10 million children, which is about 30,000 per day, are dying of having no food, or no water, unhealthy living conditions, or diseases that spread all over the world. Bill Gates didnt even know about the roavirus until he read how many children have died from it. He assumed that there were treatments and medicines that could cure all of these viruses and diseases, and if there werent, that the government would be doing everything in their power to get the treatments, to the people that need them most. Warren Buffett found out about Gate's foundation, and when he learned more about what the foundation was for, decided that he needed to help, by giving a huge amount of money. These people are a believer of philanthropy, because they want to help make a differnece in the world.

Smartphone Therapists

Smartphone Therapists

By April Qualls 2B

　

Almost everyone is afraid of something in their lives. Some people have fears that can turn into disorders. In my case, I am very afraid of snakes. But I hardly ever see a snake, so my fear can hardly be called an illness. But, for some people, they might have a mental illness, like fear of heights, fear of being in small spaces. Those fears, can get worse over time, very quickly. Therapy sessions can help, and usually do. But, we are in a period of time where we use our cell phones for, well, just about everything. The iPhone is very popular, and since Apple has released the iPhone 5 a few days ago, the brand has become even more popular. But along with the new iPhone, you can also get new apps to go along with it.

Anyone that has a mental illness, or have changing moods, depression, and other signs of mental illness, therapists and health professionals, recommend their patients to use mobile apps to care for their illness. These apps can help with just about any mental problems you may have. Kristen Mulcahy, a psychologist in Falmouth, Massachusetts, created an idea for an app that corresponds to people with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). This app has patients try to face their fears, by the method of practice. Kristen gives us an example: “Users can practice this with, for instance, leaving the house without checking the door lock multiple times, over a period of time. If they give in before the timer is up, there’s a ‘Just Gave In’ button.”

Other apps, like Moody Me, used by Dr. Rakesh Jain, a psychiatrist at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, are used to track your mood. The app Moody Me, uses photos uploaded by the user to describe their mood. You can go more into the app, by using a set of lists provided by the app, to help figure out what could have caused your mood, and why it might change. Jain also has his patients use an app that tracks their BMI (body mass index), because depression and BMI are linked with illness in different ways.

Thee are other helpful apps, like Live Happy, an app that helps you by offering “happiness boosting activities wherever you go”. It has many other features as well, along with a gratitude journal, that you can record the many things that you might be thankful to have in your life. Dr. Jain says that the Live Happy app is “extremely scientifically based and (an) unusually powerful app”.

These apps are connected to the world, because the people that came up with the idea for these apps, want to be able to help people that have these mental illnesses, because not everyone can, or do, get treatment for them. Resources say that we always have our cell phones with us, wherever we go; so to be able to create technology that can be used on a cellular device, whenever you need to use it, is a good and helpful thing to millions of people all over the world.

This information is provided by http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/health/mental-health-apps/index.html?ht=hp_bn12

Inference-Echo

The woman in this image represents Echo from the myth "Narcissus and Echo". In the picture, the woman is looking at the man, just like Echo, who "observed Narcisuss wandering in the pathless woods ..." (paragraph 370). Since the man has not noticed that the woman is looking at him, I can infer that the woman is Echo, because in the myth, Echo stared at Narcissus without him knowing it, and this woman is doing the exact same thing that Echo had done.

Gas Prices at Ultimate High

Gas Prices at Ultimate High

By April Qualls  2B

Labor Day weekend is the weekend where you can spend time with your friends and family, and not have to worry about having to go to school on the following Monday morning. You can also plan a vacation getaway for the 3-day weekend as well. An average of 500,000 plus travelers, traveled this weekend, but that didn’t stop the gas prices everywhere, from rising up.

Gas prices have risen up to their all-time high for a Labor Day weekend, up to $3.80, but that didn’t stop any traveler this weekend. Most of the time, we wouldn’t normally worry about the price of gasoline being so high; but now, it’s becoming harder and harder not to look up and notice the advertisement sign of the high prices now. All around the world, the price of gas is either becoming high or low. Some states, like Colorado, New Mexico, and South Carolina, have prices that average about $3.50 a gallon, while others, like Hawaii, Illinois, and California, have more higher prices, offering up more than $4 a gallon. GasBuddy.com has reported that the price of gas hit $3.80, going up 14 cents from the same time last year, being the highest price of gasoline ever recorded during a Labor Day weekend, beating the record of $3.68 set in 2008. AAA reports have stated that the average gas price is now $3.83. Gas prices grew by nearly 31 cents a gallon in August, and have risen 11 cents since the 22^nd of August of this year.

Some people do not understand as to why some states have reasonable prices, while other states have questionable ones. But all that is thanks to Hurricane Isaac, which has forced oil refineries located on the Gulf Coast, to shut down. That is why the price of gas has become so high in the past few weeks. Millions of people are being affected by these high prices, because it’s hard to pay such a high price. People who cannot afford to pay the large amount of money for gas, have now opted to walking to their desired destination, or by taking the buses that operate all day, nowadays, rather than driving their own vehicles.

Someday, these high prices will lower. But as of today, many people are now beginning to think that these prices will eventually get higher and higher, making gas even much harder to pay for. I, along with many others, wonder if these prices will ever lower; but I do know one thing: that we just have to wait for oil refineries to open back up, and then maybe…just maybe…prices might lower a little bit.

This information is provided byhttp://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/03/us-gas-prices-at-highest-ever-for-labor-day-weekend/?test=latestnews

My Bucket List 2012-2013

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have never heard of this book before, but ever since my friends recommended it to me, I've been wanting to read it. All the reviews for this book say that it is a must read, and it has a lot of action, and will "keep you on edge through the entire book".

2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I want to read this book, because it sounds like it is a really good book. A lot of people recommend this, and reviews say that kids in high school or middle school should be required to read it as well, along with parents reading it too. I also want to read it because it has a mysterious feel to it, and I like to read mystery books, and it fits the mysterious factor.

3. Hate List by Jennifer Brown

I had never heard of this book until it was recommended in English class. I find it interesting because it is based on a shooting at a school, and that the main character's boyfriend was the shooter. I also want ti read this, because it reminds me of the book She Said Yes by Misty Bemall.

4. Columbine by Dave Cullen

I read the book She Said Yes by Misty Bernall in elementary school, and that's when I first learned about the Columbine shooting. But, to know that there is a book that has more details on what happened that day, makes me want to read it even more, to find out more about what happened.

5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This book caught my interest when i was told that it actually happened. It kind of feels like this book might be a thriller, and I like to read thriller books every once in a while. I also want to branch out more into non-fiction books, to get a feel for things that are actually real.

6. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent is the second book to the book of Divergent, which I have finished reading. I came to find that Divergent was really good, and I cant wait to read Insurgent. Divergent left me hanging, and I want to know what happens next, so I think Insurgent will be really good.

7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Everyone has told me that this book is really good, and since there is now a movie based on the book, it's even better. It's also set in the time before the Civil Rights movement in 1962, and I like reading books that have a little history in them to base the plot. My mom has also read this book, and she said that it was really good, so I REALLY want to read it now.

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This book caught my interest because the movie based on the book seems like it is really good. It also revolves around kids in high school, and how we just want to fit it with everyone else. But the main characters in the book may come to find, that it might be better for them to just stand out among everyone else.

9. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I want to read this book, mainly because I love Stephenie Meyer's books. I read the Twilight saga, and I loved it. I just think she is a good author, and that anything she writes, will be amazing, no matter what. It also looks like it is a science-fiction novel too, and I like those kinds of books, so I cant wait to read it.

10. Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto

I have already read the first two book in this trilogy, and I LOVED them, so I can't wait to read this one, to see how the story come to end. Reviews say that the Halo series is a must-read. I also think that Adornetto is a VERY good author, because she wrote the first book of the series, when she was only sixteen. To be able to write a full out NOVEL at that age, I find to be very impressive.

I guess I'm blogging now......yeah.