Have you ever thought about unfathomable numbers? Like 6.02 x 10^23. That would be a mole. A mole of skittles would be 6.02 x 10^23 skittles. That amount of skittle would fill the Grand Canyon, and then some. That's how huge a number that is. Surprisingly though, moles are around us at all times. Not just the burrow-y ones (sorry, that was a bad pun waiting to happen). Say, a mole of Carbon weighs exactly 12 grams. Just twelve grams to contain 6.02 x 10^23 atoms of Carbon. To put this in perspective, this is the number expanded= 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. This is huge. If you have a mole of pennies, you could give every single person 1 million dollars every day for 2500 years. This would cover 216,721,026,000,000,000 cubic meters. That's a factor of a thousand away from filling the entire Earth. You could cover the Earth in pop cans. Not just once, but a layer about 200 miles thick. Then back to the Carbon example. About 12 grams of Carbon is a mole. Just 12 grams. This proves how insanely small atoms are. My mind=blown.

Graduation is definitely a bitter sweet time (original topic, i know!). But really, it gets me thinking about just how much change is present in our every day lives. Maybe someone dies, loses a job, gets injured, has to move far away, etc etc. These are all things that can drastically alter a life, and they all can happen so fast. The same is true with graduation. After the seniors graduate, their lives will never be the same. There will be people they have went to school with for the past 12 years that they will never see again. They may never even return to Aurora! Some are joining the military, some are going off to college, and some are taking a year off to travel or just save up money in order to afford college. Regardless of what they are doing afterwards, nothing in their lives will ever be the same as what it was when they were in high school. It's not only their lives that are affected, it's the same for the underclassmen. I wont be able to discuss IB stuff with the senior class anymore. Some of the seniors that starred in the last couple of shows may never grace a stage with their presence ever again. And well, that's all the bitter stuff. The sweet part? Grad parties.

Okay, so you know how you can sing high enough to break glass? It's actually easier than most media makes it out to be. What you have to do is sing the resonant frequency that matches up with the natural frequency of the glass. Basically, everything has a frequency at which it naturally vibrates. So, if a note is sung, or played whatever, the object starts to vibrate along with it, causing more sound to be produced, causing it to vibrate harder etc etc. Make an object vibrate hard enough, and it will shatter. Obviously, the easiest type of material to do this with would be glass, considering, well, it's glass. And, the other thing I've found is that the resonant frequency isn't all that high, I could even hit the note after a warm up. The main issue with the process is that the note has to be played at extremely close ranges and extremely loud. So, put an amplifier right next to the glass. Yeah, I'm gonna break glass with my voice. This is gonna be awesome.

A lot of things are mass produced. And when i say a lot, i mean like millions of millions of different produced things. There are computers, paper, pencils, glasses, tables, chairs, shoes, pants, shirts, shoes, socks, jackets, doors, houses, microscopes, hats, posters, fire extinguishers, beds, sheets, pillows, drawers, sidewalks, backpacks, binders, folders, tape, scissors, baseballs, baseball bats, ANNNNDDD packaging for everything I just mentioned and more. Okay, lets say everybody on the planet has one shirt. That means there are over 6 billion shirts on the planet. I cant even imagine what a pile of 6 billion shirts would look like. Now, imaginne that for apnts, socks, shoes and more. The amount of things just on the planet is so crazy insane. and this is what i think about in my spare time.

So my friend Jake is running a marathon. Also, my biology teacher runs marathons on a very regular basis. i cannot understand how someone can run 26.2 miles. Twenty six point two miles. I thought a 5k race was intensely long. I was pushing my body pretty far to run that far for cross country. I cannot understand how ones body can be capable of running that far. Also, the mental capabilities of a person that can run that far. How can they not think theirselves our of running that far? I'm totally going to run a marathon when I'm older. Mr. Wilcox, you might have to remind me senior year. But I totally will.

Have you ever really thought about light waves? Well, apparently, light waves are both waves, particles of photons, not to mention alternating electric and magnetic fields. Which can also act as waves. Which enter our eyes at different speeds and lengths, and are therefor interpreted into colors and shapes. this is done by the focusing lens in our eye and is focused into rods and cones which see different kinds of light. Nothing by itself truly has color, we simply see it as the color it does not absorb but rather reflects. There is not such thing as color. Color is simply the wavelengths of light. Thsts just the variance of the lengths from the troughs to the crests in the wave form of light. Which means light decides everything of how we see everything. If there was no light, nothing would have color, or appearance, or anything. And light is just alternating fields of electricity and magnetism. This. Totally. Blows. My. Mind.

And on that note, Ill just make a blog discussing my weaknesses, to show that I'm not a total hypocrite. Well, for starters, I am an extremely cynical. For all the times I've been told not to judge people, I still do. Whether or not your outfit is school appropriate, how you do on a test, not to mention how you hair looks today. Of course, normally what I judge reflects my own insecurities, so, take that as you will. Another thing about me is that I'm extraordinarily lazy. and I never really do anything unless I absolutely have to. Thus, I procrastinate. A lot. Hence doing these blogs really late. Still, I get pretty good grades for doing everything last second. I don't really know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Furthermore, I'm pretty extremely over dramatic. I'll overreact to most any situation. Mostly I do it for humor's sake, but still, I'm a regular ol' drama queen. And finally, I have a gigantic ego. I think I am pretty awesome. I'm constantly proved wrong.

Another common thing of human behaviour is the inability to admit weaknesses. Funny thing is, it's one of the most common questions asked in an interview for just about any position. Funny thing is is that most people use this question as an excuse to remask one of their strengths as a weakness, and just make themselves look better instead of actually admitting a weakness that they do have. Another thing is, people don't want to admit what they're bad at. Only problem is, is that once you admit what you are bad at you can work to improve yourself. It's the first step of just about every rehab program, and probably the biggest too, is admitting you have a problem. Of course, no one wants to accept, let alone admit that they aren't as good as they make themselves out to be. I mean, being proud of yourself is an essential part of your self esteem.

So, in my life, all electronic screens seem to malfuction and break. So far, i have lost about 5 phones, a gameboy, a psp, and now my school issued laaptop is on the fritz. It got me thinking though, that even though that electronic screens unnaturally break in my presence, this has nothing to do with "fate" or how according to my mother, "broken screens just seem to love me". Im just really clumsy and drop all of my things. Therefore they break. I feel like Sherlock Holmes. Anyways, I always felt that the whole, "oh, ______ just seems to love you" is a really lame and unintelligent way of describing what happens to people. Shouldn't we strive for the the truth and try to figure out why things break when we own them, why we always seem to drive up to a red light, or why we get bad test grades, instead of just saying, oh, well thats the way it is. This esspecially bothers me with people that just say that they are bad at a certain type of test and that's why they failed, not because they didn't know the material. Just because you may be filling in bubbles or writing out a response, doesn't mean that you can say that you failed due to the difference between the types. People just don't know the material of what they are being tested over and refuse to admit it.

I think the amount of movies I watch is starting to have an effect on my life. I only recently realized that I watch an excessive amount of movies; as a kid I always thought it was normal to see at least 3 over a weekend. Now, i realize just how odd it is, especially in classes like Spanish, where we are asked what we did over the weekend. Well, I as usual, went out to the movie theatre to see the newest block buster. Overall, I think that all these movies I watch is effecting my life. The earliest examples of this I can remember is when I saw parts of the movie Psycho at age 5. I now have an irrational fear of closed shower curtains, thanks to infamous shower slasher scene. As I get older, I am starting to realize I worry, legitimately worry, about myself, my friends, or my family being brutally killed by a murderer, killed in a tragic accident, succumbing to a terrible illness, etc. I have a firm belief that something tragic could happen to someone I love at any given time. Luckuly for me, I haven't yet hit the point of paranoia.

I'm getting there.

I take tests at light speed. I dunno why, but for all my life, I've nearly always been the first one finished with exam/test/quiz. I suppose part of it is that I'm a quick reader, but that can't be all of it. I remember when I was in fifth grade and we were taking the Georgia elementary school equivalent of the OGTs, my teachers would be super worried because I would finish with another half hour to to complete the test. They scolded me for speeding through the test, and made me go back through them to check for mistakes. However, whenever I got my test results back, I finish in the top 10 to 15 percent of people to take the tests. Now, this blog isn't to brag, and besides, most of us in IB do score that high on tests - hence why we are in IB. However good my test scores may be, though, I still feel extremely self-conscience when I finish up to 15 minutes before the rest of the class, especially when the test was considering an extremely difficult writing exam. Actually, I usually only finish fast when I am taking multiple choice exams. When it comes to writing, I have to slow myself down to make sure that my handwriting is legible.

So, I look up to/admire a lot of people. I'm gonna list them off.

1. Billie Joe Armstrong- for creating music I'll never get tired of.
2. Emma Church- for being so incessantly happy (something I'll never pull off).
3. Katie Clark- for having way more pop culture knowledge than I ever will.
4. Ian Benson- for being super witty, smart, and having way more pop culture knowledge than I ever will.
5. Ian Kropp- for being really chilled out, having a lot of facial hair, and being musically talented.
6. Leah Jereb- for being more dedicated to something than I ever will be.
7. John Micheal- for possessing the intelligence and voice that I could only with for.
8. Miguel Benedict- for being absolutely hysterical, and fun to talk to.
9. Jake Hays- for having pride I could never have.
10. Ben Davis- for being a fantastic runner
11. Ashleigh Shydlowski- for being artistic and scholastic, a simultaneous feat I could never accomplish.
12. Sam Alonso- for having a much more positive outlook on life.
13. Tori Horvath- for being able to find her calling in life so early
14. Sarah Carbone- for having closer friends than I ever will
15. Nate Benson- for having the best barn ever, as well as a better fashion sense
16. Michael Sokolich- for being so dedicated to swim and school, a dedication I never had.
17. Matt Blatnick- for being totally comfortable with his life

And that's all I have to say about that.

You know what I've realized over the course of the past 18 weeks in TOK? Well, moreover in life itself, but these are TOK blogs, so I'm gonna keep thhem on topic. Well, i am so extremely judgemental, angry, and cynical. I think. I just keep seeing people and thinking immediately after, wow... You are possibly the most annoying person I have ever met. I've realized I have been the angriest in all my life in these past few weeks... What ever happened to me being really happy? IB isn't that tough, it's destroying my morale...

I really feel as if i need to find a way to cheer up. I've been scowling too much lately. OH! Also, if anyone ever makes a mistake, or does something that I find irrational or weird, I feel the need to correct them (Sorry Emma...). Blahh.
Also, I've found that I would much rather write a TOK blog than write an english essay on WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

I'm egotistic.

I am the very definition of "nerd". I play D&D. I know how to write programs and build a computer. I play an extraneous amount of video games. I use words like extraneous. I'm in IB. For years, I've been part of the outcast clique. My friends and I had more cult classic references than most people had songs in their iPod. But then, all of a sudden, being nerdy became cool. All of a sudden, you could buy tee shirts with Mario on them. A band called N.E.R.D. came out. TV shows like Chuck and The Big Bang Theory became popular. Just recently, Buddy Holly glasses and dress shirts became the fashion. All considering, I shouldn't be complaining. The things I've been enjoying for years are becoming mainstream, allowing me and my friends to better relate to our peers. However, I feel as if I've lost my very own "super secret club" amongst my friends. I feel as if I've lost my individuality, the very thing that set me apart from the crowd for so long. It's selfish of me, but I really do wish I could have kept all the nerdyness to myself and my friends.

So, I've decided facebook.com is the new age teen journal, where all the sad and angst ridden preteens can unload their feelings. Unfortunately for the rest of the users, though, facebook just happens to be public. Everybody gets to see when Annie breaks up with her boyfriend, and all the song lyrics she thinks that describes her terrible life perfectly. Then, she moves on to inspirational quotes, or Angsty Annie decides her life sucks, that she is so much more alienated and alone than the rest of her peers. Then comes the fan pages, that Angsty Annie can "like", with such great sayings like, "You broke my heart", and "I hate that every time that your name lights up on my phone, I fall a little bit harder for you, but every time my name lights up on your phone, I'm just another girl". Now, while I am not belittling the girl's emotions, I would like to point out a site with several million users, and a site which nearly every single one of Angsty Annie's friends use, is not the place to advertise your personal emotional problems and issues. Unfortunately for Angsty Annie, for every true friend that uses the site, she has 100 acquaintances on her friend list that simply don't care.

HEAT.

In physics, we're learning all about the wonderous world of heat and thermal energy. Well, according to Mr. LoGalbo, a seemingly trustworthy source, there is no cold. Just a lack of movement of molecules. Temperature is the measure of the movement of molecules, and heat is the transfer of that speed from one molecule to the other. Therefore, feeling something that is hot is a bunch of the fast little particles hitting your slow little particles on your hand. Like, the stove molecules hit your hand really fast and then your hand molecules get fast. Therefore hot. Isn't that a weird concept? I just can't imagine the microscopic world. All everything is is just molecules. Little atoms, with swirling atoms. Technically, around 90 percent of an atoms space is completely unoccupied. There's nothing there. Nothing at all, for 90% of an atom. Which means what makes up everything is mostly not even there. The super crazy fast movement of the electron provides the stability and structure and function of an atom. Also, just a few more positive and negative charges on an atom can turn lead into gold. Or hydrogen into gold. Or oxygen to gold. The only difference between the elements is a few different charges. + or - decides whether an atom is the most valuable substance on the planet or deadly if it comes anywhere near a human. I don't think I'll ever be able to comprehend the microscopic world.