Coal and Steam Engines

coal mine

Before 1712, people had to use wood for fuel. The outburst of coal mining started the Industrial Revolution, and men driven by the idea of making profits started to invent steam engines. The first ever steam engine, designed by the Spanish inventor Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont, was patented in 1606. This started a series of non-practical attempts to create steam engines.

Newcomen atmospheric engine

In 1712, the first commercially successful steam engine, Thomas Newcomen’s atmospheric engine, was invented. It was used mainly for pumping water out of mines, and did the work of 20 horses. Operating the Newcomen atmospheric engine was expensive, so James Watt improved on Newcomen’s engine. The Watt steam engine came to be more efficient, and is better known then the Newcomen atmospheric engine today.

Watt steam engine

sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20979973

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coal_mines_industrial_revolution.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcomen_atmospheric_engine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt_steam_engine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine

The Evolution of English Riding Apparel

English Horse Back Riding

Back in the time when we like to call ‘the olden days’ there was a sport in which miraculously still exists today, however a bit modified. English Horseback Riding used to be an only mens sport, until everybody started using it as transportation. Not just in carriages (which is a whole different topic), but individuals, too. Horseback riding required a lot of equipment, such as the saddle, bridle, martingale, breastplate, horse shoes, breeches, and boots. Like any other everyday use, technology has brought these items along a very long road, and today, these things are very very different from what they were in the 1700s.

The saddle, invented by Francois Robinchon de la Gueriniere (what a name!), was first used as a seat to be mounted on a horse for long travels. People of the higher class would mostly be seen using saddles, because they were expensive. Soon, people started using saddles for a storage compartment on mules, however those were different kinds of saddles. Back then, there was one kind of saddle. A leather one. Now, you can get a custom fit saddle, a jumper saddle, a hunter saddle, a workhorse saddle, and all these fancy things for and about your saddle, and just think about Francois Robinchon de la Gueriniere sitting there, watching these people getting custom fit saddles, when he just invented a saddle so it wouldn’t cause blisters in unwanted places.

What would you use to make your horse move? Stop? Turn? The bridle, invented by the Mesopotamians, was an invention that looked like a leather net, made to slip over the horse’s head with a metal piece that went in the horse’s mouth, connected to the reins in which the rider held. the first bridles, were made with twine and rope, with no metal piece, but just a few parts: the nose band, which was slipped around the nose (duh), in which the reins were also connected to,  the throatlatch, which was a piece connected to the crown piece, and went under the throat, the crownpiece which went behind the horse’s ears, the browband, which went in front of the horse’s ears, and the cheek pieces, which kept everything from falling apart on both sides. Now, the bridle is most commonly used with a bit, a metal piece that fits on an extension of the cheekpiece and goes into the horse’s mouth. If the rider was to ask the horse to stop, he/she/it would pull on the reins, which is connected to the horse.

On a totally different topic, what the rider wore on their legs. Breeches, britches, or simply, riding pants. In English riding, riders wore breeches, a legging-like pant which was normally made out of cotton. However, up until the late 1800s, people (mostly men) wore britches as everyday pants. They wouldn’t change out of their britches when it was time to ride, so the concept of riding in britches, breeches was more commonly followed.

A lot of things changed with the tack and attire of English riding over time, but almost all of it had to do with the current technology and how it would affect, or change the way people could ride and how to make it better. This seems to be the case with almost everything that was invented more than 200 years ago. Almost nothing stays the same on this earth. Everything changes.

Sources:
"Saddle." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 July 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
"The Saddle Evolves." EquiSearch The Saddle Evolves Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
"Riding Equipment: The English Bridle." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
"Breeches." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 June 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
My Horse Knowledge-Filled Brain

Lacrosse

Lacrosse was invented by American Indians. It was played for spiritual purposes. It was believed to be  invented in the 12th century and was known as the “little war” because they used it to settle disputes and it was very violent. In the Cherokee tribe, they way they ensured victory was that the shaman (priest) would use a sharpened comb (rake) and ran it down the players arm 28 times drawing blood. If they player never cringed or whimpered, he was assured success during the game.

Today, we play a game that the english modified for suitable playing as a sport. Also today instead of using a wood or deer skin ball we use rubber, and use helmets pads and gloves for protection. We use metal sticks instead of wood sticks like the Indians used. They also come in different shapes then the original Indian sticks.

The game is played similar to field hockey and the players catch and throw the ball with their stick and the net in the head of the stick.

The object of the game is to make the most goals possible in the time given. The way you make a goal is to shoot at the goal and hope the goalie doesn't deflect it or catch it. Each team has ten players on the field at a time: three for defense, three for attack, and three for middy, and one goalie.

I like to play lacrosse because it puts me into shape very easily as well as improving my hand/eye coordination. It's also very exciting to make a goal because its harder than some sports.

Baroque Music

       Baroque music was popular from around 1600-1750. It is a style of western music. The word baroque comes form the Portuguese word barroco, which means oddly shaped pearl. Baroque music is mainly made up of classical music. The composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Arcangelo Corelli, Tomaso Albinoni, François Couperin, Denis Gaultier,Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Pachelbel, and Henry Purcell.Baroque music expanded the size of musical performance it also introduced opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto, and sonata.
           

       In church music the contrasts of solo voices, chorus, and orchestra were taken to the next level. Baroque music instruments are the flute, oboe, recorder, bassoon, trumpet, horns, viola, celle, harpsichord, piano, Harpsichords & Claviers, and the pipe organ. Baroque music is still listened to today.

Images:
http://www.rutaverdebolivia.com/images/Fest2.jpg
http://www.free-scores.com/IMG/bernard-dewagtere/bernard-dewagtere_20091129080640.JPG
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_music
http://baroque-music.com/
http://www.baroque.org/baroque/whatis.htm

Scottsh Independence?

Great Britain is a country in Europe. It consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.  But, what if Scotland wasn’t part of this country? The thought of an independant nation and the freedom to make their own laws has been debated for centuries. This growing nationalism led to some devolution of power from the UK parliament to establish the Scottish Parliament in 1998. This gave some lawmaking powers to Scotland. For example, legislation on education. The majority party in the Scottish parliament, the Scottish Nationalist Party, has taken this one step further and has fought and won for a vote to be taken on full Scottish independence in September, 2014.

This is an interesting dilemma. I was born in Scotland and the majority of my family lives there. I didn’t live there for very long after I was born, in fact, it was only a year. I don’t know what my family over there is thinking, but I do know that one of my parents is voting yes and the other is voting no.

The United Kingdom became a sovereign state in 1707 with the political union of England and Scotland to become Great Britain. For many people in Scotland it was a hostile merger and during the 18th century there were many battles where Scotland fought for independence. For example, the battle of Culloden in 1746 -  a Scottish defeat. Scottish people are very patriotic and proud of their traditions and culture. They take pride in the poetry of Robert Burns, the gorgeous landscapes, the popularity of golf to name just a few.

There are two campaigns, the “Yes” and the “No”. The Yes campaign has several arguments for why is is the ideal choice for Scotland. If Scotland was it’s own country, the economy would be much better. Scotland owns a large share in oil. It wouldn't have to be divided between the rest of the UK(which it currently is) if Scotland gained independence.  If Scotland had independence, as a country, it could integrate itself more into Europe. It could set up ties with Nordic countries such as Norway and Denmark.

But, there are also many arguments for the No campaign. Britain owes many debts to various countries in Europe. If Scotland gained independence, Britain wouldn’t be able to pay of  his debts. Also, Scotland would still part of EU. But, as part of a smaller country, there would be a smaller voice of Scotland in the world.

So, in conclusion, I don’t know if the Yes campaign or the No campaign is going to win. I don’t live there so I don’t really have an opinion. I think that Scotland has been part of Great Britain for so long, it would be hard to split. On the other hand, there are many new horizons that could happen if the results ended up as being no.

The Invention of the Telephone

What is something we use everyday? What is the one thing we cannot live without? If your answers were your phone, you're not alone. Everyday we make calls, text our friends, check our social media, and all this is done from your phone. Many people probably don’t even know how this “Phone craze” all started. Some say it was when the IPhone was invented. Some say it was when the cell phone was invented, but if you go way back to the 1870s, you'll find that this phone craze was started by a genius inventor named Alexander Graham Bell.

Bell wasn’t the only one to come up with the brilliant idea of being able to call someone who was no where near you. In fact a man named Elisha Gray also had this brilliant idea. Both men independently created the very first phone, but Bell got his patented first.

The first telephone was very different than the amazing technology we have today. Alexander Bell first referred to it as the “Electrical speech machine”. The only thing it could do was make calls. No texting, no apps, no screen! This phone was a stationary phone, so it could not go wherever you go. You most likely have at least one of these in your house, but this one was very different.

Overall, the telephone was a fantastic invention that certainly influenced current technology and our day to day lives!
Bellis, Mary. "The History of the Telephone." About.com Inventors. About.com, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
"Invention of the Telephone." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 June 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

 

Skiing + Drought in Oregon

      I love to ski, and I usually would have gone up to Mount Hood or Bachelor Butte 

several times this ski season but this year I haven't gone yet. This is largely due to the 

lack of snow, and this is mainly because a pressurized ridge caused by the polar vortex 

in the rest of the United States of America. This year there has been a lot of unpredicted 

weather as a result of sun spots.

      This drought hasn't only

 been effecting the ski season, 

but could effect water price, 

fishing regulations, 

farm irrigation, and electricity 

prices/shortages 

because Oregon gets 

66% of its power from

hydroelectric.                                                                    Bonneville Dam


 I no matter what happens I will always love to ski, be in the snow, and have a great 

time on the mountain. Even if it requires distant travel.

                                                    Self-Edited Photo

Procrastination, Volleyball, and Homework, Oh My!

As a middle school student, a volleyball player, and a kid who loves to waste all her time online, I like to procrastinate, all the time. I feel guilty when I do, but I love not doing my work. There are so many other things I could do like: watch TV, eat, watch hours of netflix, go on the world of youtube, and a million other things. How do teachers expect us that out of the billions things I could do they want us to pick the one thing we hate the most. Homework.

I play club volleyball which can make me extremely busy. The practices are twice a week and an hour and a half each. Now I know I should not be complaining because some people have it much worse, but what bugs me the most is that almost every weekend I have a twelve hour tournament. This can consist of eight to ten hours of straight volleyball! This means there is NO time for homework! Just to my luck it seems that I always have a volleyball tournament the weekend before a big test or a big project is due. When I get home from a volleyball tournament I don't want to do homework. To tell you the truth it's probably the thing I want to do least. That is one of my number one ways I procrastinate: being too busy and tired.

When I go to practice I sometimes get "volleyball homework" it's not really homework but it’s close. I sometimes will be told to do a certain amount of sets or bumps. Or sometimes I'll have to work on my approach and block jump. The thing is with volleyball homework I do it. I love volleyball so I love volleyball homework! So sometimes I'll work on homework just not school homework.

To help with my procrastination I try to do whatever I can. I will try to plan my whole day, I try to work on one thing at a time, or l will even try the rule of six. For the rule of six I write down six things that I want to get done. I put them in order if importance and I get to work! If I don't finish everything then it just gets moved to the next list tomorrow. But to find the thing that works the best for you you just have to keep trying new things and maybe one day you will cure your procrastination forever

The thing is with procrastination you never know when you will find a way to cure your procrastination. Hopefully I will find a way to cope with my busy life and work hard in school.

Decisions

Decisions. What is the first thing you think of when you hear that word? A basketball player? A corporate executive? Well, everyone makes decisions, whether it's buying a new shoe,  posting a photo on the Internet, or even choosing what color of pen to use. What do these decisions have in common? Well, they all have some impact on our lives, no matter how trivial.

Let's look at this same concept, but on a bigger scale. Imagine yourself as the president, having to make a decision whether or not to pass a bill. Now your decision doesn't just affect you, it affects all of America. So whichever way you decide, some one is going to be unhappy.

However in some cases, a decision makes a lot of people unhappy. Then the decision maker is under heavy fire, even if he believes it was the correct choice. One example of this is the Louisiana Purchase.

The Louisiana Purchase was a purchase made by then-President Thomas Jefferson in 1803. It gave the United States control over 828,000 square miles, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rockies. This land was important because it included tights to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans, which was critical to facilitate trade with Western states, The United States paid $15,000,000 (in 1803 dollars) or $234 million in today's currency to France. That's about $0.42 an acre. That's about as large as a football field without the end zones. This transaction is by far the biggest land acquisition in United States history, as it nearly doubled the size of the United States at that time.

Sounds like a great deal, right? Well, a lot of people weren't happy with Thomas Jefferson's decision. Why was that? Well, there were several reasons:

1. Some people considered Jefferson's purchase hypocritical, because they thought he would have argued against the same purchase.
2. Many Federalists preferred closer ties to Britain rather than closer relations with Napoleon.  
3. It was widely considered unconstitutional. In fact, a vote to reject the purchase was narrowly defeated, by a margin of 59-57.

So, how did it ultimately turn out? Well, see for yourself. Without that land, the United States never would have expanded to the size it is today. In fact, 15 of the 50 US states would still be under control of France. The Louisiana Purchase is a perfect example of a correct decision made under heavy pressure. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase

Link to Table of Contents:

http://goo.gl/Ytyb1T

Good and Bad but Always Loved

 I have gone through many sports to find volleyball, I did soccer, basketball, gymnastics, ballet, tennis, swimming, and even a little lacrosse. I started bumping a volleyball around with my dad in 3rd grade, I just thought it was another sport that I would like but not love, of course at that time I thought it was called “ballyball”. In 6th grade I started played for my school team. I was on the lower team, but all the other 6th graders were on the same team. I needed to learn more about the sport to decide if I wanted this to be the sport I played. The season came and went by the time it was over I was in love with volleyball. Still I did basketball. I tried out for club but, it being my first year doing club I had no idea what to do I went to one of the hardest clubs and didn’t get in. I did many camps over the summer though and finally got my overhand serve down. 7th grade came and I knew volleyball was my sport. I did school volleyball again and was put on the same team, that didn’t bother me though I got more playing time to improve. I tried out for another club team and got in on the highest U14’s team in our club. I have improved my serve, passing, and hitting but, I have to say I am not the best at setting.

There are ups and downs to volleyball when you win a game you feel great but, it’s the little things to. When you do the perfect spike it is amazing. The down side is you can get hurt a lot. I have gotten hit straight in the nose before and two people on my team, of twelve, have gotten concussions because of it. I also get this horrible feeling too when I mess something up like a serve or a hit that costs us a point. The worst thing to happen is game point for the other team and then you go up to serve, you feel so much pressure, and then you mess up the serve it happens all the time. At points you can feel like you are a failure then, you pick yourself up and shake it off. Without all the feelings I have in volleyball, all the ups and downs, I would never be a better player. I love volleyball no matter what, it has taught me to be more disciplined, patient, and I have made new friends that I feel like I have a sort of bond with.

Volleyball

Eat. Sleep. Volleyball

Music To My Ears

I have been playing piano since I was in second grade. It has always been an important part of my life. Whenever I need a distraction, or something to wrap my mind around, I start practicing or listening to some kind of music. Sometimes, I like to improvise, which means making it up on your own. 

Fiery Piano Performance

Listening to music is also an important part of my life. I love a good dub-step beat or a catchy pop song. That always makes me happy and helps me focus on whats important in life. Stress relieving! Sometimes I just like to fiddle around on Garageband and make up a jingle. Music also helps me make connections. If I hear a sound that coincides with a word or phrase I tend to remember it better. This is called musical learning.

My piano teacher, Alena, lives just a few minutes from Catlin. When I walk in and take my shoes off, I'm excited to get to work on my pieces and maybe start a new one. Playing keeps me motivated to keep moving.

On top of lessons once a week, and practice at least 4-5 times a week, I am competing in Science Olympiad and playing basketball for Catlin. It may seem like I am overworking myself, or ignoring school work, but I actually manage fine. This is because I believe that if I do a little of everything, but keep focused on my main goals, I'll do fine. I may have basketball practice one night, but then I'll work on homework and if I have time I'll also practice piano.

Sometimes, performing can be difficult. I have performance classes every month or so, which let me practice in front of others. It can be hard to play fluidly, sometimes I start over thinking what I'm doing, like when I perform in drama class. We all have our "pet peeves". 

Ludwig Van Beethoven

I have learned a lot while playing piano. I know the time periods, composers, chords, and things like grace notes and crescendos which add to the richness of the music. But also, music has helped me learn about history too. Since my piano teacher is from Belarus, I have learned a lot about European history and the culture there. I have also learned about the composers themselves, some of whom have had very interesting lives. 

Piano and music relate to Revolutions! which I am studying in school. Music is related to the Industrial Revolution because production of pianos and other instruments became more mechanized, but it is to this day still considered an art. Music and other arts were also parts of other revolutions because people were expressing their thoughts and they feeling of the moment. Many poems and pieces were written by people during the French Revolution and Civil War. These are interesting ways to learn about how people felt at the time.

On the topic of learning, my family is donating our old piano to The Snowman Foundation. This charity accepts money and pianos for families and students. They believe that everyone deserves a chance to play and learn piano.

Though it can challenge me, music is still an escape. It lets me bring back sounds that were written in ink pen on paper hundreds of years ago and play them today.

Image Sources:

http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/burning_piano.jpg
http://moonlight-sonata-sheet-music.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/tumblr_m87zhyVLb81rql8omo1_cover.png-300x300.jpg
http://www.monsterworking.com/wp-content/uploads/music.jpg

Track and field is a time-swallower!

My name is Erin, and I love track. Track is my passion, the joy that the Spring brings me. I run 100m hurdles, 100m dash, and I jump long and high. For me, track is probably even better than sliced bread. It is fun, exercise-packed, motivational, and HARD! 3 or 4 days a week, I sprint down to the gym to change, sprint down to the track, and begin the 2 laps we must do before each practice. Then we do warm-ups. Warm ups are probably the worst and most uncomfortable things you could possible imagine. In rain, they stink. In sun, they REALLY stink. Imagine being tired from running two laps after sprinting, then having to sprint back and forth and back and forth with people yelling at you the whole time. Again and again until no matter what the mood you started with, has morphed into complete and utter hatred for everything. Now add your back burning and sweating a lot. This is how they feel. After that, you go off and practice your own element. By 4:30, you are completely and totally exhausted. All you want to do is go home and sleep. A lot. This is track, it is exhausting and very annoying sometimes, and I seriously love it. Track affects my procrastination and maybe lack of work-beautifulness (I'm aware that's not a word) because I put lots of my time into this particular branch of my life, going to my athletic club and running on the mini track, racing my sister anywhere and everywhere you could possibly walk to, and the meets. Oh, the meets. Probably the scariest things ever but they're so much fun after you realize it's not the end of the world. My first hurdle race, I cried. Then I raced, got third place (out of 3 people, yay me) and got 98 out of 99 overall. It was a lot of fun, though. Anyway, once you finish track practice, pretty much all your energy has drained out of you and has frolicked off to another happy soul. All you want to do is sleep and eat lots of food. But no, we have homework. It's hard for me to think when I'm tired, physically and mentally. I just want to get things done, so they can be out of my life. That spurs me on to do bad quality work, and by that I mean messy, sometimes incorrect or inaccurate, and incomprehensible. I really try to be better at budgeting my time and not working so hard in track that I can't complete my work. But I also believe that if you don't work hard, you won't get any better. As you might collect from that, it puts me in a bit of a problem. Academics before athletics, I know, but really? Usually before track I do good quality work, get things turned in on time, and occasionally do the extra credit assignment just because I can. I don't know if Revolutions intersects with tracks season, but if it does, or if it doesn't, I hope to improve on my time-budgeting skills....and high jump. Bye!

Basketball: The Game Of Buckets

           Basketball was invented by a man named James Naismith in 1981.Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a basketball court which has a rectangular shape. The whole point of the game is to shoot a basketball into a hoop and play defense and make sure that the other team does not make a basket.Whoever gets the most baskets at the end of 4 quarters(in the NBA) wins the game. Basketball is the U.S.A's most popular and viewed sports.

A basketball that is made inside the three point line counts as two points for the team that made the basket. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but there can be extra quarters (which is called overtime) can happen when the the 4 quarters are over and both teams have the same amount of points.. 

Some violations are called "fouls". A personal foul is penalized, and  2 free throws are normally awarded to the  offensive player who was fouled while shooting the ball. A technical foul may also be issued when certain arguments or other things occur, normally for unsportsmanlike play by a player or coach. A technical foul gives the other team a free throw, and the team also gets a possession of the ball.

There are many techniques for shooting the ball, so when you watch a basketball game you can tell every player shoots differently. There are many ways to score, but you must pass, dribble and rebound to make a basket.basketball has different positions for the 5 people on each team.If you're on offense there is the center, power forward and small forward,point guard and shooting guard. There is many different types of defense, you can play man-to-man defense or play a zone such as a 2-3 zone or 1-3-1,etc.

I've been playing basketball when I was four years old, and since then, I've loved playing basketball.When I was little I wasn't very good, and my better sports were baseball,track,soccer,and tennis.But as i've gotten older, my dad has taught me some things and i've gotten stronger, faster,and better. Me and my family play a lot, and me and my dad always play one on one. I'm glad that people have changed basketball over time because it would be played much differently if they hadn't.There are many stages of basketball; there is 4-9 where your very young and aren't really that good and you're working on your skills more than playing to win.Then there's middle and high school, where you're trying to be the best so that you will be noticed by scouts from good schools and hopefully get a scholarship to a god school. Then there's college, where you must be at your best to get noticed by people in the NBA if you wanted to play there.That takes a lot of work and determination.So as you can see, basketball is a really hard. It takes hard work and the drive to push yourself to be great. But basketball is really fun, and i would encourage you to try, or if you're already playing, Just keep playing and getting better.