Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Virtually News has put out their 2nd Quarter issue! Check it out!

http://my.highschooljournalism.org/wi/waukesha/iqhigh/index.cfm?eid=10207

What Next?

First read this:

--Flatulent kangaroos could save the planet.--

Australian scientists plan to isolate, and possibly transfer to other species, the 'roos digestive bacteria, which unusually produce almost none of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

One of the primary sources of atmospheric methane is the digestive tracts of millions of cows, sheep, pigs and, um, humans. It's the byproduct of trillions of bacteria, properly called digestive flora, without which no mammal could get nutrition from starches and plant fibers.

With each belch and colonic gaseous emission, large plant-eating livestock contribute a bit more to global warming.

"Fourteen percent of [greenhouse-gas] emissions from all sources in Australia is from enteric methane from cattle and sheep," Queensland state government research scientist Athol Klieve told Agence France-Presse. "And if you look at another country such as New Zealand, which has got a much higher agricultural base, they're actually up around 50 percent."

But kangaroos, which eat plenty of plants, appear to have different digestive flora, emitting almost no methane. If those bacteria could be substituted for those of cows and sheep, it could drastically cut down on the amounts of methane pumped into the atmosphere.

source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315586,00.html
----

Wow. That's my first reaction. Second reaction: That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. For those of you who read the last issue of Virtually News, you might have read my article on Global Warming. If you didn't read it, go read it, and read the counterpoint by Alex Dunn.

Questions that come to mind regarding this research: How much methane is put into the atmosphere? How much does it contribute to the greenhouse effect compared to carbon dioxide emissions? What about all the methane the ocean gives off? Is this a natural thing that we should just leave alone???

Thinking out loud,

Em

Poll Archive: Events & Sci-Club

We asked, and you answered. Question and results below:

-----

In other news: Not exactly a historical tour or an exhibit, but it's worth mentioning that the first (finally) Madison sci-club trip is coming up next week: BioTek lab at UW.

It should be a blast. I'm sure it'll be reviewed in at least several places, but I'll try to remember to write about my experiences here afterwards.

-H²

Christmas or Winterfest?

It's finally Christmas. The time most people love. There is controversy, though about if it should be called Christmas. Should it be called Winterfest instead? I would have to say personally that it should be called Christmas. It is about the birth of Chirst. People also say that saying X-Mas instead of Christmas is taking Christ out of Christmas. Did you know that X stands for Christ in Greek? So, technically you're not taking Christ out of Christmas.

The second batch of Motivational Inspiration

Not a whole lot going on lately, in terms of the blog; I'm sure most of us are busy with the relentless onslaught of assignments. I've sure got plenty to do, and more than just schoolwork.

Needless to say, I feel it's important to make an effort to post occasionally... A little activity goes a long way, and there's nothing like a couple funny images to emphasis that point:

Latest Poll Results

In a recent poll asking which media types offered the biggest new-thing adrenaline rush, you said Movies. Only *one* poor, hapless soul didn't vote for movies...

In second, with under 50% of the total vote, came Video Games. You didn't vote for Used Car Dealerships, but then again, I really didn't anticipate anyone would.

While we're speaking of movies, Brit Lit's taking a field trip to Milwaukee and Madison to see Beowulf. We'll have a review here sometime next week on how the event turned out!

-H²

Yearbook Initiation

As Week Eleven rolls in, the Yearbook project has at last sprung into being. In an effort to provide you some insight into what the final product may be, here's an excerpt from the "Welcome to the Yearbook team" email (Sent to us by Lanette Strong, who's spearheading the operation):

...I have taken the information you sent to me and I've put together a guide line as to who will be working in each area....The Community Coordinators will be acting as "Student Captains" and each coordinator will have a list of the students in their area who are working on the year book staff... As the announcement stated, this yearbook is going to be in DVD form and will be available to all students at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. We are going to have a deadline of 12:00 midnight, Friday, May 2, 2008 for all information submitted....

Also within the introductory email was a long list of topics and students covering those topics. These include things like teacher interviews, a student map, area events, outside of school student exploitations, and the like. It's quite a long list, actually. Should be interesting to see how this all turns out. My opinion so far is actually very favorable. The organization seems well thought out and properly executed, for the time being. If properly managed, and if all the students complete their tasks proficiently, this could turn out quite nicely.


I'll post updates on developments as it progresses. For the time being, I'm quite curious as to how it is going to differ from our friends at Virtually News (who've just released their latest edition by the way,) and I've made an inquiry to that end.

Would love to hear your take on this,

-H²

Revenge of the Pencils

Well, the old WKCE testing strikes again! Poor little sophomores get their nerves all hyped up and then after it's all over, let out a huge sigh of relief. I had the pleasure of sitting in a chair at the Madison Public library for about seven hours today. After waiting for a few minutes for a group of people to clear out of the room we were going to use, (I occupied my time with straitening shelves which I have gained the habit of after volunteering at our local library. Where are those silly Madison library volunteers anyway?) I found a seat and couldn't wait to get started!! heh.... yeah. So, the wonderful teachers, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Pease, (that we are so grateful for for spending most of their day watching high schoolers take a test) went through the instructions and handed out our number 2 pencils (remember, ONLY number 2 pencils) and other helpful things including calculators and a nice little cardboard ruler. Then we were off! We had around 35 minuets to complete each "session" or test. The first three contained around three types of stories and then we had to answer a few multiple choice problems. After completing each session we would quietly show one of the teachers that we had in fact completed it. They would write down the time we had completed the session and we would then move on to the next.

After going through three sessions of reading, three sessions of mathematics (which I will confess, I don't think I represented our school to well. I hope I got at least a couple right...) and around two sessions of science, I started to get a little tired of it. This was the first booklet. While I sat there at the table, almost becoming hopeful that I would finish this wonderful booklet of questions, Mr. Wright announced that it looked like some of us were rushing through the test (not I) and that there was still another to come! That definitely made me excited. I eventually made it through the first booklet and decided to keep on going without stopping to take a lunch break. Who needs energy for this magnificent test anyways? Once again I found myself trying to make it through a couple sessions of social studies and writing. I actually almost feel confident that I did close to alright with writing. I wrote about the Age of Technology! Fun stuff... I even mentioned online learning. I think I should get an award for that! After a few more grueling hours of multiple choice questions and filling them in with my number 2 pencil, I was done! All I can say is, I'm glad this does NOT count toward our grade and that it is not our lovely school alone making us poor kids do the test. I also would like to say, those who have this wonderful experience ahead of them, try to at least think of doing your best and representing our school! And that's about it. I can't think of any other reason to be thankful for the test at the moment... Oh, I know. I won't have to use a #2 pencil to take a test again for the rest of the year!

Six Hours Later...

While some of your jaws may have droped to the floor, thinking I had worked 6 hours straight on the blog revampment, such was not the case. (This is not to say I didn't want to...)

Check it out! The tabs do what the tags do, but they look so pretty, and the extra space allows for other functionality. (Hence, RSS button as well. Maybe I'll put another button or two in there as times goes by...)

You like?

-H²

New iQb Template to undergo development

Having stumbled upon several resources for modifying Blogger templates, I find the prospect of such modifications very enticing, and will be working on enhancing our very own Student Blog in the coming weeks (potentially months.) Stay tuned for more news as I relate my experiences!

-H²

A Replacement iQ Commons Discussion Board

We all know the discussion board is broken. And it hurts your eyes to look at.

So to continue talking amongst each other in a more civil place, Hilary Siebring, a Senior at iQ, has created a replacement forum. You can get there by clicking the title of this post.

The iQ Blog is a wonderful idea and its done very well. But its not meant to be a replacement for discussion boards. When it comes to really getting in there and holding a conversation, it doesn't hold up well. Its use lies somewhere else.

To join the forum, you're going to need to sign up as you normally would, then post your username here as a comment, so it can be verified you are an iQ student. Anyone other than iQ students will not be able to see what is posted on the forums.

Poll Results for Archive

In a brilliant administrative move, I've decided to do this the easy way. Stay tuned for the next one...

Did you know?

- The amount of people who choke to death each year is on average about 100 people.
- The only author to have a book in every Dewey decimal category is Isaac Asimov.
- Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
- An atheist convention is gathering together this weekend in Madison for a day of breakfast without prayer and to give out awards. As the news reporter said, " God bless them!"

A Moment of Silence

I've come to realize, despite all the promises and mildly-competent attempts to follow through on them, that things in the iQ Commons are never going to achieve their former organizational glory. We have homepages that no one knows about, we have forums that no one cares about, and the commons announcements are messed up nearly to the point of illegibility. Even our faithful macs are being phased out now, in favor of PC's. Things are changing, and certainly not for the better...

When I first joined iQ, there were at least 3-4 intelligent students who were consistently involved in serious discussions in Commons. While I was just a freshmen, I saw something there that I wanted to be involved in, and did so. Several major flame wars and a bunch of other stuff later, I was a full fledged member of the discussion board group. If something came up that I was interested in, and back in the day things did, I joined in and had my say. My Sophomore year was similar, though slightly more students were more interested in chatting than discussion. (And that year, last year, was the year they shut down the chat rooms.) Back then, we had real, heartfelt discussions where we furiously disassembled the other side's arguments, until we grew tired of that subject and started another. It was a community, like any other community, and it was a great enjoyment to participate.

Now, this year, after the whole blackboard system seems to have been renovated, everything is, to put it bluntly, a mess. The announcements in commons should be in the announcements section of the Discussion Board "Course" and they shouldn't be in obnoxious colors, and they shouldn't stretch the screen so you have to scroll sideways to read them. The Homepages should be right there too, where people can see them. The discussion boards should have all the functions set up, so people can edit the errors in their posts, etc. They should be able to mark posts as read or unread too, like we used to be able to do.

Unfortunately, the thing that really matters, the people, seem to have disappeared. The veterans of the first several years of iQ Academies have gone now, and in their absence, no one has showed up. There might be 10 participants in the discussion boards at the moment, but none of them care to start an serious discussion, and sadly enough, they all seem to agree completely on everything. Not to mention, no Philosophy and Religion board, AND they actually removed the Politics board! So the primary composition of topics is literally "How's the buddy program going?" "How's school going?" and "Homework help".

I should've seen this coming. Similar situations have played out in other organizations, especially online, that I've been involved in. Things fall from their glory as time drags on. People get worn down and lose ambition. Ever since Stacy McKnight left, things truly haven't been the same for iQ's student-to-student relations. (For those of you who don't know, she was our Go-To person for all the commons stuff, and Proms/Dances/Basketball tournaments etc.) I thought someone else would pick up the baton, but it's apparent that there isn't anyone else with the talents Stacy had to organize things for our sake, and make things more interesting for *us*.

Maybe someone else will come along eventually, but who knows. Maybe the iQ Administration is no longer interested in hip younger (pre-30's) people to work for them. If things continue down the road as they are, however, I fear for iQ's success as a whole. You simply cannot maintain a school without giving the students a significant, well thought-out and appropriately-managed commons (Not to mention the need for someone who can relate to students, and the organization of fun events.)


All that said, I'd like to take a moment of silence in memory of the past.

And they're off!

Good news folks! If you weren't already aware, the commons discussion boards are finally to a point of flexibility that allows for a reasonable amount of real discussion! New sections include (with comments by yours truly):

• Green Bay Packers (In annoyingly capital letters that I've decided not to adhere to.)

??? Why not just a sports section? *sighs* Oh well... Go Pack!... Go...

• General Discussion

Yay! Except for the horrible clashing colors in the subtitle area, it's great to finally see this one up and running!

• What's your favorite TV show? (Also in caps...ahem...)

Uhm, alright. Not so bad, but less useful than some of the missing ones. (No Phil/Rel, for instance!)

• Political Issues

Oh snap. This one's gonna get ugly...

• What are your hobbies?

Well, at least this one was requested by quite a few people... And it doesn't have obnoxious colors in the subtitle... and it's not in caps... three cheers for that!

• How is school going?

First of all, the "question as a title" thing is getting rather old. Secondly, dduuummmbbb topic. I don't even need a thirdly.

• Have you checked THE commons for school events?

"THE?"


Might see you around in there sometime soon. If you've never experienced chaos before, you should join in! Trust me, it's a blast... Really. Like, *kaboom* *screams* *machine gun fire* *death*

*not so subtle wink*

-H<sup>2


Edit: Added two DB's</sup>

Motivational Images: Vol. 1

Hip-hop/Rap Lyrics.

Rap lyrics, are terrible.
They're all about money, and 'hoes' and sex.
And they use positively horrendous grammar.

So when I'm extremly bored, I take rap lyrics and revise them so they are formal and proper and such.

An example:
From Ludacris' 'Get Back.'
The original Lyrics are "Get back, get back, you don't know me like that."
My lyrics? "Please keep your distance, please keep your distance, you are not acquainted with me in an intimate manner."

From Will.I.Am's 'Got It From My Mama'
Original: "Baby, where'd you get your body from?" and "I got it from my mama"
Revised: "Young female member of the human race whom I am attracted to, from what specific intersection of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates did you attain that physical shape consisting of flesh, blood and bones?" and "I have acquired it from the woman who gave birth to me."


I will add more at another time, for now, enjoy this installment of Formal Rap Lyrics.

Somebody set us up the Poll

All your votes are belong to us. We asked, and you answered. Thanks to all who voted in the recent poll, providing us with key insights into your desires for material.

Now, I don't know how many of you realized that the poll allowed you to select as many options as you wanted to, but it's pretty obvious that at least some of you did, so the final tally is probably at least a little valid. The top three results, which we'll try to put more emphasis on in the coming months, were "Just foolin' around with your heads," "Spamming our rants," and "Helping you with your issues," in no particular order... or paraphrasement.

-Henry !!

Did you know?

- The most dangerous animal is the common housefly. They transmit more diseases than any other animal because they have a habit of visiting animal waste.

- October 10 is National Metric Day. The United States is one of three countries in the world who have not adopted the metric system as their official measurement system.The others are Myanmar and Libia.

- The Statue of Liberty's official dedication was on Thursday, October 28, 1886.

Newly Revised Buddy System

After its initial sign up announcement, the buddy program went under the radar for quite a while. I had growing concerns that it would flunk like it did last year. However, things seem to have improved. I received an email notifying me of my budd(ies) just today, and it seems to be fairly thorough. I got three of them, apparently due to a lack in volunteers. Will they stick with it and nurture it into a full, successful program? Who knows? I can only hope so...

...Yet, I have concerns that it'll fall to the level of quality that can be found in a lot of the materials they provided us relating to creating a schedule/staying on pace (If you haven't seen the 'staying on pace' video, save yourself the time and squelch your curiosity- suffice to say, it's scarily corny.) The introductory document sent to the buddy-ers (can't think of a better term as of yet,) told me to fill out a survey and send it to my buddies, but it was a very lame survey. You'd think with the number of email surveys circulating, it would be manageable to pick a couple good questions, but no. One of them is literally "I need (fill in the blank.)" Full thing below:

Line 1: I am (your first name)
Line 2: (some adjectives that describe you)
Line 3: Son/daughter of (and/or brother/sister of)
Line 4: Who needs (some things you need)
Line 5: Who loves (some things you love)
Line 6: Who hates (some things you hate)
Line 7: Who fears (some things you fear)
Line 8: Who came to iQ because (some reasons you’re attending iQ)
Line 9: My favorite thing about iQ is (your favorite thing about iQ)
Line 10: Who dreams of (some goals for this year and/or beyond this year)
Line 11: Resident of: (you can describe your house, or name your hometown; or even the planet you live on!)
Line 12: (your last name)

I don't mean to be too harsh on the poor guys; they clearly put some effort into it, but the worst part is how they describe that survey:

"you’ll be creating an autobiographical poem that will tell your buddy some important things about you."

Ouch.

-H²

Blog Reforms of September 07

Fellow authors, readers, and the occasional malicious internet surfer, I bring you the shortly-awaited, completely unexpected and mildly insignificant iQ Student Blog Reforms of September, 2007! Here's a list of the exciting changes:

Change #1: Refined "Label" feature and applied appropriate labels to all current posts
Why it helps: The motivation to do this came about thanks to a suggestion from a fellow student, who thought it would be beneficial to provide readers with clarity, and allow them to more easily browse the various types of posts you'll find in the diverse realm that is this blog. While it's not exactly what anyone had in mind, I think it'll help you if you just want to read a certain type of post. To use it, note the "Topics of Interest" section of the right column. Just click one to sort.

Change #2: Modified and updated the "Information" module
Why it helps: People who come here not knowing where they are will now know where they are and can leave accordingly!

Change #3: Altered the shade of blue on the 'iQ Students' blog title
Why it helps: Bet you didn't see that coming! I'd also be willing to bet you'd never have noticed, had I not mentioned it here.
Special note: If you liked the old color better, just comment here and I'll reluctantly change it back.

Since I can't remember if I changed anything else, I'll assume that's everything for now. Hope it enhances your experience, and please go vote in the poll so we authors have a better notion of what you want to see us write about!

Till next time,

-H²
OFFICIAL REFORM COLONEL

Did you know?

- Wild baboons are breaking into houses and cars and stealing things in South Africa.

- The Hundred Year War didn't last 100 years. It lasted 117 years.

- There is a gap of happiness between men and women. Men are generally happier than women.

And the survey says...

In response to the question of how many hours you spend in Elluminates weekly, you said:

(46%) "5+!" Hats off to this crowd, the more the merrier!
(33%) "3-4..." I applause your interest, and your understanding of moderation.
(13%) "Wait, what? Elluminates?" Do me a favor: Visit elluminate.com, login, and join the first session you see... Just do it.
(6%) "1-2" Not bad, not bad...


Thanks for participating! Watch for the next poll coming soon.

-H²

Discussion Board Quandary

Alright, what's the deal? It took a while to get Commons setup, and then longer to get the Discussion Board Suggestions section setup, but now that they did that, the only thing they've done is create three mildly pointless boards that don't actually allow for any serious debating...

Am I the only one gradually moving from "Patience" to "Frustration" at an exponentially greater rate? Or is this actually bothering some of you as well?

Personally, I want discussion. Even just an acknowledgment of the suggestions posted by students in that section. After all, why ask if they don't seem to care?

The Results are In

After a week of frenzied voting, the results to last week's poll are in!

In response to all the mass emails, you said:
41% as the leader of the votes was "Very Annoying"
29% as second place (though not by much,) was "Not so bad/They mean well"
20% of you just let out a howl at the horror of the experience.
8% are bald. I think there's a discount on wigs this week at Wal-mart if you're quick...


Thanks for participating. Next poll starts Monday the 17th!


Edit: Due to various discrepancies in the poll (are you already growing your hair back?) the number of bald voters dropped from 9% to 8%...

Patriot Day

Today is 9/11. Take time to remember everyone who died. Remember the figherfighters and police who gave their lives to save other peoples. Remember all of your family and friends who died.

Win An Apple iPhone!

Yes, it sounds like junk mail, but it is entirely true.

I was interested in seeing if iQ had a Wikipedia page, and so while I was searching Google, I came across a website of iQ's I had not seen before. Of course, I clicked it:

iQ Academy

(Page will NOT open in a new window. I seem to have forgotten that bit of code. Just + click it open.)

And there, right before my eyes; a chance at last.

In case you are unaware of the greatest phone ever, check out the site.

(Same applies for this link, it will not open in a new window, sorry.)

It looks easy enough. They want us to do a video demonstrating the freedom and flexibility provided by online education. (There's a video of iQ Academy director Lisa McClure doing just that. She and a few others are using their laptop... while skydiving!) Everything we need to know is on the site, along with what will help us in winning.

Unfortunately, I just found out about this, and the deadline is noon on September 14th. Hopefully many of you were aware of this long before I was. If you weren't, there's still time!

If you want to add any special effects, titles, sounds, transitions, etc., I suggest you use iMovie HD, which should have came loaded on all of our laptops. It would normally be pretty slow, but since we're only using YouTube quality video here, it should be no problem at all.

I wish the best of luck to everyone!

EDIT:

I should mention, and I'm a little disappointed with myself that I didn't, that buying the iPhone means switching to AT&T's service. It's a 2 year agreement, plans starting at $59.99, and the phone can not be used (except to dial 911) until you have this service.

Elluminate Ethics

As the first week of Elluminates has begun, chances are good that you'll either have one very shortly after reading this, or you already had your first and may be able to relate to some of my advice.

First of all, if you're wondering how many I've been to, I have no idea. Enough that I can't count them. I've been to almost every possible elluminate for my classes, barring illness or travel, for all of my three years at iQ. I know the ropes pretty well, and would like to share some tips on interacting within elluminate (not tech help- for that you've got other pre-established resources.)

Tip #1: Use the mic.

This is a very serious part of it. If every student used the mic to convey their point at least *some* of the time, everyone would benefit. It's more fun, it's more fluid, and you can focus your attention. Of course there will be times when you're munching on something, or your mic doesn't work (don't lie about this, btw,) or you don't feel well (this either.) However, these times are theoretically occurrences with a very low frequency, and are not -by any standards- a permanent excuse. Thinking your voice is bad is actually a permanent excuse, but unwarranted and you shouldn't get away with never speaking because of that. (Do you also never say anything in public?) Bite the bullet and get on it. You won't regret the new freedom.

Tip #2: Don't spam the whiteboard

This is another big one. Do not, even if everyone is fooling around, ever, under any circumstances, spam the whiteboard with tons of Pencil Tool, dumb images, the same text, or any other evil materials you can think up. There will be opportunities to go wild, but by going wild you need to respect others and not take up everyone's space with junk. Not spamming might go unnoticed, but if you mess with everyone, you will be seen and most people will find you annoying. For everyone that doesn't spam the whiteboard (or contrastingly makes it pretty,) I salute you in advance.

Tip #3: Be friendly and informative, not distant and blurry

Some people will join elluminates and leave their virtual self there while they go off and do whatever they do. This is not wise- You are lagging a perfectly fine computer, you aren't learning all the cool course material you could be learning, and you definitely aren't making friends. Even in a session of a class you don't like, you very well might meet a student or two with a similar opinion. *Poof* New friend... s. The best way to capitalize on the awesome fun that is Elluminate is to get involved and stay involved as much as possible.

Tip #4: Don't do
this
ever
ever
ever
ever
ever
ever
.

Tip #5: :) Too many :P Smilies are Annoying :D :P :D :S :D -_- :P

Tip #6: Saying the obvious to everyone is not helpful, and in most cases unfunny.

"Hey look, yellow."

Tip #7: Not participating in a discussion (particularly on the mic) is boring.

Tip #8: If you have to leave early, don't say goodbye more than once. Please. People who only say goodbye once are more appreciated because of it (and everyone *will* notice the first time.) This leads to tip #9...

Tip #9: Don't assume that unresponsiveness means people either don't like you, don't care what you're saying, or didn't see what you typed. They may just have nothing to say, be feeling too lazy to type back, or really don't care what you said. Also, don't take it personally. If what you're saying is important, repeat it, and if that doesn't work, someone else will join in your quest to get the message out. This is especially useful for semi-distracted teachers.

Tip #10: plz use cptl lettrs 'n full wrds sumtimes cuz it make ur stuff easier 2 read



That's all for now; might see you in class!

-H²

Salutations!

Greetings!
My name is Mandy, I am a Senior here at iQ. I think that this is a wonderful idea to really get to know people and what is going on in their heads. It is a fabulous idea! I have actually been a student here at iQ for 3 years, and for good reason. I am a former student of West Bend West, I left after my Sophomore year, and a very unsuccessful one at that. I had a knee and sinus problem, a problem that had me in and out of school for more than 2 months out of the school year, sprawled throughout that year due to surgeries and therapy.
iQ was answer to a prayer.
My Junior year had been interrupted, however, as my parents split up, and my mother, my brothers (3) and I had left the house, and I was unable to finish a portion of school, as where we were residing did not have internet.
Last year went very good, my Senior year, but I decided I would stay one more year to prepare myself for going to college.
So, that is where I am. I am technically a Senior+. *riendose en voz alta*
Glad to be here, pleasure to meet you all, and I look forward to getting to know you all!
Here's to a good year, and a great start!

~Mandy Massingale

My First Week At iQ

My first week has been super hard. I've been trying to figure out how to navigate all my classes.AP Government is really hard. I also couldn't figure out how to get my printer to work. If anybody wants to help, please email me at horsecrazyaly15@yahoo.com.The school is pretty cool all together. Everybody have a good week!

CarlySmash is in the house!

Okay, that was lame.

And I'd been sitting here staring at the screen, listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with no ideas at all.
But then I realized, I could use my lack of ideas as a decent post.

So I took a page from the Book of Streeter Seidell,
and made this.

Three guys walking down the street...

The first one walks into a bar. He bought a beer and stayed there for an hour.

The second one walks into a bar. He was unconscious for an hour.

The third guy walks into a poll, and votes the second guy for president.

---
While that joke wasn't a political statement, it did have something special in it. Can you guess? A poll! That's right. And that's also a new feature on Blogger, that we get to use. (*listens for resounding cheers of joy*)

You can find the poll of the week, which I'll obviously update weekly, in the right column (For those of you seeing only a blank green background, it's the other right.)

-H²

Into the Fray

With one full day of school behind me, I'm happy to be in one piece after the (usual) amount of day 1 chaos yesterday. Despite everything from not having my ibook till the 3rd, to being without an elluminate login to attend the Physics elluminate that didn't happen anyway, it was certainly a positive precursor to what is shaping up to be one of the best years at iQ yet. The crazier it starts, the better off everyone is. It's only by having the troubles that staff and students can properly get into the online learning groove- and I don't mean that lightly.

It's the problems at iQ, and even life in general, that shape the success of its participants. Through the struggles to get everything in line, we learn where our priorities really are, and we gain crucial skills that will solidify our composition in future struggles. Chaos breeds greatness. Keep that in mind, as you wait to get that critical problem fixed (or tear your hair out at the mass-emails flooding your inbox.)


-H<sup>2


Edit 1: Added mass email note. Thanks Charles.</sup>

Why Gmail? How do I get it?

Gmail, a shortened version of the service dubbed "Google Mail" is a top notch, free email service available to anyone with an invite. Chances are, you either have it and can skip to the end of this post, or you have Hotmail/Yahoo and don't understand (or even care, for that matter,) why Gmail is so much better than the other free options out there. Well, your time in the darkness is over now. Here's why Gmail rocks the rest of the competition:

1. A Gmail account gives access to all Google services, like Blogger, Docs & Spreadsheets, Groups, Pages, custom Google homepage, and Google Talk (IM program,) just to name a few.

2. POP Forwarding- You know that funky program called Entourage on your computer, that can be setup with your iQwisconsin account? Or maybe you're familiar with Mail.app, the mac version? Well, that program uses POP Forwarding (don't ask; it's an email thing,) and while Hotmail and Yahoo don't offer POP, Gmail does, so you can forget ever using your web browser to view mail again. (And you better be thinking "Wow, I don't have to use *Firefox* to see my mail anymore!" because if you don't have firefox, you're missing out... Suppose I'd better write a "Why you should get Firefox" list too.) BTW- This feature means you can kindof ignore the next 3...

3. Streamlined features- It's got all the formatting you could want, all sorts of customization options (like tagging emails to sort them,) and an auto-save feature that makes sure you don't lose your long email just because the browser went haywire. Plus, it's all very sleek, and the adds are minimal (and even amusingly on-topic with whatever you're reading about in your email.)

4. Security/Spam protection- All possible junk messages (And I mean *all*. It catches every one of them for me,) are sent to your Spam folder, where you can delete them, unspam them, or just mark them as read. Sure, most email services have this feature, but Gmail does it better, by being smarter, and not making you load a bunch of in-between pages just to get to your junk folder and do stuff there. Additionally, Google is secure, thanks to it being Google. (You know what I mean, I hope...)

5. Integrated interface- When it has to tell you something, it does so in a very unobtrusive way. Just look at this, and try not to smile:


That's all I have for now! If you're interested, you do need an invite to use Gmail, but they're all over the place (every Gmail member gets 100ish to hand out to anyone they please.) Just drop me a note if you'd like to 'convert'.

-H²

Tips for preserving your work

I'm sure we've all experienced that dreaded moment when we realize something just went wrong and all the work accomplished in the last hour is not there anymore. It's an inevitable situation, but with some forethought and good habits, you'll find it can be easy to stop most of these events before they happen. This guide is mostly for tips on taking digital safety measures, but the easiest way to avoid data loss is obviously to do things on paper (print out exams, do assignments by hand before typing them, etc.)

Here they are:

#1 Save Early, Save Often- The most important issue is saving your documents soon after creating them, and saving that document again and again while editing it. The easiest way to do this, in most programs, is "Command+S" Especially in word processors, get in the habit of hitting "Command+S" after paragraphs, sentences, even words when you get stuck. Saving goes for exams too. They didn't put that juicy "Save" button next to "Submit" for no reason!

#2 Undo- Yes, it's true. On most applications, you can undo what you just did. If you accidentally delete a whole paragraph's worth of text, don't panic! Either go up to "Edit > Undo" or use the easier "Command+Z" on your keyboard. If it doesn't work, take a moment to breathe and calmly see if there's another way of getting it back.

#3 Backspace while taking an Exam- This one's a killer. You're typing a long essay, and accidentally hit backspace when your mouse isn't focused in the text box. Of course, makers of almost all browsers thought it was a nice idea to make backspace the hotkey for "Go back one page" and that means "Erase the exam" unless you've saved it (If not, why didn't you read #1!?) There's no way of undoing this one, but you can avoid it when you know it happens. Just always make sure your mouse is focused where you want it to be before typing anything.

#4 Email Drafts- While this one is becoming less and less important (as email programs often save themselves nowadays,) you should know that its possible. Any email program will have a "Save" option while composing an email. Take advantage of this! Save your email before you accidentally close the browser window, or just get Gmail and never worry again ;)

#5 Location > Location > Location- This is one of those problems that, while it shouldn't even cause problems, can give headaches to anyone. Ever experienced saving a file and then not being able to find it? Well, have no fear; Those days are long gone now. First off, your mac's Finder has a search function that you can utilize to find any file imaginable. Secondly, your Mac OS X has "Searchlight," a brilliant search function built into your computer for your use. You can use it by clicking that magnifying glass at the top right of the screen. However, all this is unnecessary if you just organize your comptuter and put things where they should go. You should create a folder for each class, and save documents related to them in their respective locations. Trust me, it works.

#6 "Oops, didn't mean to hit that X"- This one's related to browsing the web. If you close a webpage that you didn't want to, remember that there's a "History" function (Or should be. If you don't have one, you need a better browser,) that you can use to get that page back. On Firefox, there's even a "Recently Closed Tabs" function within History that allows you to open a tab you just closed. Unfortunately, no browser can guarantee that any forms you had on that page will still be filled out.

#7 Screenshots- Did Word just freeze up? Do you have no way of saving all the stuff you just wrote now, and you forgot to listen to #1 so it wasn't saved in the first place? Again, there's a solution! You can take a picture of the document for reference and retype it after you force quit the application. It's a simple feature, and you can use it anywhere (Elluminate whiteboards, anyone?): Shift+Command+3 (For a full screen capture) or Shift+Command+4 (To target a particular area on the screen- Click and drag, then release when the gray area is where you want it.) The files will be saved as .png images on your Desktop, where you can open them with a program (such as Preview.app) whenever you please.

That's all for now, but more tips will be added as they come! Also, feel free to suggest your own using the comment function.

Happy recovering!

-H²

Why This Student Thinks... (fill in the blank)

However many people may not agree with me on this, I'm going to say it anyways; iQ is a great school. I was never one to hide my bluntness, and that's my honest opinion.

Right now, I'm on a secluded tiny island that looks on a map that China is eating it; it's raining. Not only that, but only a few people on this island speak English; the rest speak either Mandarin Chinese or the slightly different Taiwanese. Kinmen, (pronounced Jing-men) the island I'm on, has one internet server, one. But, with this one server, I'm able to post this, early morning for you people stuck in Wisconsin, from across the continent of North America, plus the Pacific Ocean. Now that's amazing. Technology astounds me.

So what is my point? How does this "little island being eaten by China in the middle of nowhere" have to do with iQ being a great school? If I wasn't doing iQ and I wasn't homeschooled, I wouldn't be here. Well, in Kinmen at least, I'd still be in the supposedly newly green Wisconsin bothering a bunch of people. And, I'd be going to school. With four/five weeks of school left, I'd have major spring fever and be absolutely sick of the monotony.

Instead, I'm in an amazing little country with an amazing history and an amazing future, seeing amazing people and meeting amazing (and adorable) little kids. For a whole month. Spring break lasts, what, a week? But no, I'm here for an entire month, and, yeah, I brought school with me. Up on the shelf sits my World History book... It's collecting dust, but Mr. Sajdak doesn't know that.

With iQ, I can be absolutely anywhere in the entire world that has internet connection (yeah, even one dinky little server) and be connected with my school and keep my grades looking nice and shiny. If I went to a face-to-face school, I'd be... well, at this point I'd be sleeping in or getting ready for church, but I would have to go Monday morning and sit in class for about eight hours, propping my eyelids open with my pens and paging through my very worn Geometry book trying to remember all the insane formulas.

However, here in Kinmen, I'm getting to do a lot of face-to-face learning, but not stuck in a classroom. I get to go out, whenever I want and be attacked by the smell of stinky tofu, aromatic spices and Taiwanese chocolate (all mixed together). I get to go to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei and learn about "that Chiang dude" and everything he did; things I learned in World History, but I'm now seeing where they happened. I get to sit next to an older man on a plane and listen to him tell me the history of the country he loves and then his political viewpoints, in a completely different country where I have no say in what happens.

So, maybe I'll pay for all this "face-to-face" learning when I get home a week before school ends and have major jetlag and try to finish about three weeks of school in one week. But that's the beauty of iQ, you can put it off until the end and then be mercilessly attacked by such procrastination, only to completely wear yourself out and be left for dead when the clock strikes midnight on May 29th.

As a side note: My sister, who graduated with iQ, misses that huge adrenaline rush the last week of school brings us procrastinators.

Anyways, just as a summary, my thesis statement of sorts, iQ is great because you can do it absolutely anywhere and if your parents are okay with it (or you're old enough), you can go to a foreign country and learn stuff face-to-face without having to be "away" from school technically.

That was long.