Introductory Blog Post

Hi, I am Tyler Hoffman, I am a senior at North Broward Prepatory School. I live in Boca Raton, Florida. The subject that I am interested in is cars. I already know a lot about cars. For a while I have been helping my dad fix our cars, and do basic maintenance on them. Also, I know about many types of cars and their details and specifications from the internet. I have always been interested in cars, motorcycles, and things that go fast in general. I have been interested in cars and the way they looked since I was little, and I have been riding dirt bikes since I was about nine or ten years old. Also, this subject interests me because I hope to buy a much nicer car sometime soon, and would like to know which one is the best for me. I am interested in watching cars race like in rally races, when they race through dirt and snow, and F1 races, which are very fast and very intense. I really began to enjoy cars more when I was around 15 or 16 years old and my relatives started to let me drive their expensive cars.      

The Things I Carry

I am carrying:

• an iphone 4
• apple headphones
• altoids mini
• a house key
• a car key with a Volkswagen logo on it
• a guitar pick
• an obey sweatshirt
• a macbook pro
• a pack of gummy bears
• my leather wallet, which contains
• a Pennsylvania drivers license
• a school id
• a visa gift card
• a mastercard
• 250 dollars

My drivers license: My drivers license shows exactly who I am. My license has my name, photo, and date of birth on it, which shows that I am a minor. Also, my drivers license has the address of my previous house in Pennsylvania. This detail of my card shows that I either have recently moved here or that I am a tourist just visiting Florida. I carry this to prove my identity and to be able to legally drive. What someone would not know just by looking at my license is that I have received a couple of tickets in the past. My license is important to me because without it I would not be allowed to drive, and if I get pulled over without it, the cop would think I am not even old enough to drive.  

Guitar Pick: My guitar pick shows people one of my interests in my personal life. It does not tell people that I am in guitar class at North Broward. Also, it doesn't tell people that this is my first year playing the guitar. I carry this item because it is required for my third period guitar class and without it I would not pass any of the tests. I use this to practice and play the guitar. It is important to me because I am interested in learning a new instrument, and to become good at it I need to practice. 

Car Key: My car key tells people that I drive some model of Volkswagen. My car key does not however tell people how bad and old my car is. My car key does not tell them that it is an old station wagon with 200,000 miles on it. I carry this so I am able to drive and go where I want, whenever I want. I use this key to drive and unlock my car. It is important to me because without it I would not be able to go to the many places that I go. Also, it is important to me because my parents would control what I could do without it.  

Ho Chi Minh was a Communist leader who lead the Viet Minh. Also, he lead the rebellion against the French and other occupying forces that the vietnamese people did not like. He lead the North Vietnamese government and wanted to destroy the South Vietnamese government and its supporters. The largest city in Vietnam is named after him.

Ngo Dinh Diem was the first president of South Vietnam. Worked with the US to create the Republic of Vietnam. The US supported him because he was not a communist. He was assassinated by the end of the war.

Truman gave aid to the French in the 1950s to fight the Vietminh. Then he sent military advisors to South Vietnam to train the army there.

Eisenhower sent the army there more equipment and weapons, and also he sent more advisors. Eisenhower refused to send combat troops.

 Kennedy strongly believed in fighting communism. Kennedy sent more money to fund the army in Vietnam and rose the number of advisors to about 16,000.

Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the Vietnam War heavily. Johnson sent the first ground troops in 1965. Johnson increased US numbers from 16,000 advisors to 550,000 combat troops. He also told the public that everything was going well and that it was no big deal, this ended after the Tet Offensive occurred. Many protested against him.

 When Nixon entered office, the war was extremely unpopular. He wanted to end the war quickly. He started bombing Indochina, particularly Cambodia heavily. Removed troops slowly. The last US soldiers left at the end of his term.

Is privacy an illusion?

            In today’s digital society, I believe that nothing is truly private anymore. I believe that the thought of privacy is an illusion, but it is not a very good one because many Americans see and know about how little privacy they have. With the Internet and other technologies constantly growing, privacy is shrinking. Over the years, the Internet has grown, and with that growth, the amount of information transferred through it has grown too. With the amount of social networking sites that there are on the web today, anyone in the world can see what you are doing or saying and when you are saying or doing it. Also, these sites show all of the pictures you post there, and many people post pictures of themselves and others doing things that are not legal; when people do things like this they are often caught by their parents or even the police. Also, when someone looks for a new job or applies to a college, that school or employer can look at their social networking profile and see what kind of person they are and what they post. The lack of privacy of today is not only the Internet’s fault, but also increasing technology of the government. For the past couple of years, since 9/11 the U.S. government has put more restrictions on our freedoms with things like the Patriot act. The Patriot act increased the government’s power of surveillance and generally made things stricter. Also, over the past couple of years, more and more traffic lights have had cameras put on them; now, you cannot even find a traffic light on any major road without a camera. These cameras can help us drive safely, but also you can be tracked by them if needed. Overall, our privacy is decreasing as technology and the Internet exponentially grows.        

To a Waterfowl

by William Cullen Bryant

          Whither, 'midst falling dew,

While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,

Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue

          Thy solitary way?

          Vainly the fowler’s eye

Might mark thy distant flight, to do thee wrong,

As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,

          Thy figure floats along.

          Seek’st thou the plashy brink

Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,

Or where the rocking billows rise and sink

          On the chaféd ocean side?

          There is a Power, whose care

Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,—

The desert and illimitable air

          Lone wandering, but not lost.

          All day thy wings have fanned,

At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere;

Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,

          Though the dark night is near.

          And soon that toil shall end,

Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,

And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,

          Soon, o’er thy sheltered nest.

       Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven

Hath swallowed up thy form, yet, on my heart

Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,

          And shall not soon depart.

          He, who, from zone to zone,

Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,

In the long way that I must trace alone,

          Will lead my steps aright.

I liked this poem because of the detail of the story it tells. This poem contains vivid imagery and describes the scene in great detail. One reason I enjoyed this poem is because I like birds and the freedom that they represent. Also, I like the way that the author says that the bird does not know consciously where he is going, but that his instincts guide him. I like it when he says that because I feel like no one knows where they are going in life, but that the must be shown where to go through learning from their previous actions and experiences; this is how I learn in my own life. I am still looking for direction in my life just like the bird, but one day, I will reach where I fit instinctually just like him.

"Lone wandering, but not lost." 

I liked this line very much because it suggests that even though the bird is by himself, he knows where he is going, and where he wants to be. Also, this line shows that he is independent and has to find his way on his own. 

"Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue, Thy solitary way?"
I liked this line because it made me picture the bird flying alone into the sunset. Also, it personifies the bird when it talks about it pursuing the solitary way, which gives me a personal connection to the bird.

"Though the dark night is near." 
I liked this line because I believe that it is saying that the birds journey is almost over, but that the roughest part is starting. Also, I like the lines after this that ties into this line, which say that the bird will enjoy himself and relax with his friends in the great land.  

Amazon Best Comments Compilation

The comments of this product were hilarious. Out of these almost two-thousand comments, these six are the ones that I thought were the best. The first one is great because it gives you the picture of a convict smashing bananas with his hands and throwing them at the wall in anger. Also, the ending of the first post is funny because it implies that he is writing a play/movie called South Side Story, and that it has the same plot as West Side Story. Also, the second review is funny because it suggests that the person writing it is the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of OZ. The third review is funny and tells a good fiction story about a ninja that was the best at banana slicing, and how he has reverted back to assassinations after the banana slicer came out. The forth review is very comical because the author talks about how he is the head of bending bananas and that since this banana slicer came out, his workers have had to have all of their bananas inspected to make sure they are bent correctly. The fifth review is funny because it talks about how he tried to use it to cut hotdogs, but somehow, the grease flew out and hit his eye, which rendered it useless; so now everyone calls him the wiener pirate. This post is one of the best because he talks about how he needs his "banana" removed and how he needs it cut into small pieces. All of these reviews are great and very funny, there are many more great ones on amazon.                

Interesting Blog

Exotic Cars

I like this blog because I have an interest in cars, and how they work. I have always had an interest in cars for as long as I can remember which is why this blog and its content interests me. I am very interested in this cars and one day I hope to attain one. This blog is interesting because of the way it shows interesting pictures and videos of exotic cars and the way they work. Also, this blog gives information about the cars and their engines. This blog shows details of rare sports cars that you do not see everyday, which is interesting. Also, this blog has a versus segment, where the blog puts two sports cars head to head and compares them with videos, and shows the pros and cons of each to the viewers, and their overall performance. This blog is organized very well with its pictures, videos, and comparisons. I do not like that this blog does not contain many posts. I also wish that this blog would have a higher variety of cars, not just extremely expensive ones.    

Blog Reflection

Throughout the year, I have been working on numerous blog posts. So far, my blog is coming together nicely and is fitting all of the requirements. My blog looks pretty good, but it could be better; many of my posts include pictures and video, but some look very bare and need something more. My blog looks very organized and clean, however I believe that my organization could be improved by double-spacing. Also, I like the way the black background of my blog looks in contrast with my pictures and text. The text of my post has many well thought out ideas, facts, and quotes. The mechanics of my writing in these blog posts is the main part that needs improvement. My blog is average or better when compared with my classmates' blogs. I have some facts and ideas that others have not expressed, but I might not have the same level of writing mechanics as my classmates, and my blog posts do not flow as well. I think that my best post of the year was my music mash-up post. I liked this post because I thought it was well thought out, and also because it was very visually appealing. Also, this is my favorite because it has music on it and colored text, which helps catch your eye.