dimarts, 11 de maig del 2010

My English Competence in 2010!

http://robsky10.blogspot.com/2010/03/self-avaluation.html

This was by far the best oral presentation I ever did. I have chosen this one out of the other ones because this is the presentation I did about my research project and of course, after 9 months of studying the same topic, you kind of start to be a specialist on that subject. This is specifically the best presentation because I knew that on that subject I was the one that understood more that area. I had it well prepared because I had to already do it once before so I knew it by memory and finally I would like to say that I really liked that presentation because for me it’s one of the most interesting topics to talk about.

http://robsky10.blogspot.com/2010/03/ranking-time.html

I have personally chosen this composition out of the others not because it’s the best writing I have ever done, but because it’s like an ordered global opinion about all the subjects I’ve been studying during College. It was an important composition for me because that established what I wanted to do for sure in the future, after College; Biology. I analyzed all of the subjects and that made me realize what I really desired, so this was a very important step for me!
Well, this is the end for me! I’ve done my work... Now I’ll go ahead with my life and live it to the full!

It has been a pleasure!

My English progress from 2008-2010

- Compare your first written document and your last composition:
Well in my case, I feel that I can’t really see a big difference between my first and last composition because when I started last year, I feel that I already had a good level of English, but of course I have improved in some things. I used to take longer to write before because I really didn’t know how to start or follow sentences the way I wanted to but thanks to all of the compositions I have had to do, I have been able to gain experience that has helped me to bust my confidence when I wrote down. Secondly, I think that the connectors we have used this year have really helped me to improve my writing skills and I do try to use them as often as possible. I think that they’re great! Someone that uses connectors really impresses other people and shows them that they know how to handle that language very well!

- Compare your first oral presentation and your final oral presentation:
In this case I can see a great difference! It was just dreadful to watch my first oral presentation video. First of all, let’s start with the negatives of my 1st oral and then try to see the improvement and development that has been happening until now. Firstly, I was so nervous and shaking like a leaf, I would not dear to look at my class mates and I would only look at the teacher every now and again... I was very nervous so my voice used to tremble and my hand movements weren’t very convincing. Secondly, my language was ok but I did not use connectors. The words I used were standard and I could of used better and more technical words, but I was scared because I wanted everybody to understand what I was saying. Finally, the presentation with the PowerPoint was good but I have been improving because its use has become very frequent. On the one hand, I can say that this past has helped me to boost my confidence right up! I’m not that nervous anymore, I do make good gestures and eye contact, I use adequate words and connectors... I have achieved a lot of good stuff and ideas! This has prepared me for future orals, job interviews... I’m very pleased!

dissabte, 8 de maig del 2010

DIALOGUE

Bobby: Hey! What are you doing here man?
Itchy: Well... I’m just here in hospital waiting for some results!
Bobby: Results?
Itchy: Yeah... I’m afraid it’s not good news... I had an operation last month because they diagnosed that I had stomach cancer...
Bobby: Ooooh... I’m so sorry to hear that!
Itchy: Yeah me too! Hahahaha, only joking... All this medication is tough stuff you know?
Bobby: I bet it is! I’m only here because I do a check up every year...
Itchy: Well...ermmm... I found out what I had when I did a check up!
Bobby: Oh dear! Haven’t you heard about this mind body thing? You know... meditations and stuff like that!
Itchy: Yeah, why?
Bobby: Well, I recommend you to do and try it out... They say it works wonders! Even doctors encourage patients!
Itchy: I guess it won’t hurt... I’ll just well try it then because I’m fed up of all this medication.
Bobby: About that... You have to keep taking medications... Mind body clinics only seem to improve your life.
Itchy: Well I’ll try!
Bobby: Got to go! Look after yourself, ok?
Itchy: Yup, I hope that you get good news on your check up!
Bobby: We’re all condemned to die!

NEWS!

Oil slick hits Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana Summary Oil has been leaking unstopped for 18 days from the well, 50 miles (80km) off Louisiana, since an explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig, operated by Transocean. But now, the oil from the Gulf of Mexico has started washing ashore on an island chain off the coast of Louisiana where pelicans and other birds covered in oil have now been found. Opinion In my opinion, this is a bad disaster because this means that another ecosystem is being destroyed because of our thoughtless thinking. Animals and plants is what gives our planet the greatness that it has or that it once had not so long ago. I know that our generation is now looking after and being careful with what they do to their habitat but I think that the damage has already been done from previous generations. We will try to succeed to save the planet that we have destroyed but the life of many generations to come is not certain. We hope that we find the way and the technology to save our planet. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8666276.stm New blood fat heart disease link Summary A type of blood fat different from cholesterol may play a key role in heart disease, a study suggests. Researchers looked at the role of triglycerides, which is produced in the liver and derived from foods such as meat and dairy products. The analysis of 350,000 people from 101 previous studies found those with higher levels of the blood fat were more likely to have heart disease. Opinion I can’t help to think that the main reason of the destruction of our planet is because of technology but on the on hand, technology can be in many cases a life saving use, as long as we use technology for good there’s no harm done. Technology can save our loved ones, discover new illnesses and cure them. Technology in the right hands is a remarkable object, an object that only humans can use because we’re the creators. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8664917.stm

Signs of Neanderthals Mating With Humans
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/science/07neanderthal.html?scp=1&sq=Neanderthals&st=cse

diumenge, 25 d’abril del 2010

Email from Cameroon!



Hi mum and dad!
What to say... I'll start by saying that work here in a small village of Cameroon is really challenging and hard work but this hard work is compensated with the well being of the people and I have to say that I have a great sense of achievment!

I can't comprehend how they can be so happy because their living conditions are truly horrible. There are a lot of ill kids here and I have to say that their living expectancy is quite poor...

Well... Life and work here is harsh but they know how to be happy despite of all their problems!

Is everything good in Catalonia? I hope so!
Miss you all!

The Pacific


The Pacific is a ten-part television World War II series produced by HBO that I have been quite addicted to this last month! In 1943 a war started in Europe as we know but at the same time another war begun between America and Japan on the Pacific Ocean. You might have heard of this war if I mention about the catastrophe that happened at Pearl Harbor… The Japanese did an unexpected attack to America, concretely Pearl Harbor! They bombed the whole Harbor killing thousands of American people and destroying many war ships. That is how the war between America and Japan started… Like many wars, it was a horrible war where many young men of my age died in combat and also suffered many injuries; living conditions were horrible and many of them died of hunger, thirst and tropical diseases…
You just have to imagine it! Imagine the whole of our class forced to go to war and only the 10% of us come back out of the original 100%! Life back then was hard and cruel and luckily this has changed so we have to be grateful with what we have got and respect all of those that died back then!

It’s a shame that these things are still happening… We never learn from our mistakes it seems like!

I recommend this ten-part television series to everyone that is interested in wars and so on… I have to say, it’s very sad to see!

Internet!

Internet? Internet! Internet... I think that internet is one of the best things mankind have ever created. What would we do if they took the Internet from us? I wouldn’t know what to do with myself? Humans cannot function without Internet!
We have so much information there and it’s so easy to use... It’s probably the quickest method to use to search information. Internet has got a lot of good and positive aspects but it also has its bad ones!
Is the information in the Internet actually that solid, is it that true? You have to think that everyone can add information, kids, scientists, uncultured people, people that just want to hurt other people... We can’t guarantee that the information is valid but we like to think it is! The worst thing for me is when people hang up their personal information on Internet like photos, your address, where you live, etc.
If you think for one second or just meditate what you’re actually doing you’ll realize that you’re just doing a big mistake!
Think about it, a burglar or a murderer can obtain all of our information and the use it to get to us... How many times have we seen families destroyed because one of their kids has been on a chat line with a murderer without him knowing it and the meeting up?
I personally think that as we progress in technology, the more we give out our personal information without knowing it!

We will have to be more careful from now on!

Addicted to... Hell yeah! Interent!

Weekend!

Today is another horrible Sunday! Horrible because I know that tomorrow I have to wake up 7:30 am! Same routine...
Oh well! I’ve had a quite good weekend anyway! On Friday after College I slept the whole afternoon because I was so knackered of all the studying I did during the week. I woke up at 18:45 only because I had to go to Homework Class and later on I went to my Handball training. While I was training I was invited to a dinner one of my best friend was doing, so I couldn’t refuse! We did a huge barbecue and we were about 15 people. We ate sausages, chicken, lamb, hamburgers, alioli, cheese, a couple of beers and a chocolate cake! When we finished eating I went to pick up Clara because she was at a Bday party and we went directly to a bar called “Can Different” in Empuriabrava and after that I took Clara back to Fortia!!!
Yeah I know... I also get the feeling that they use me as Taxi! 
Saturday I went to a match in Bordils and we drew with the other team (32-32), it was quite disappointing because we were winning by 5 or 6 during the whole match but the last 4 minutes of the match we lost our spark!! Ooh snaaap...
I got back at 9pm in Empuriabrava, ate something out with my dad and then I went to go and pick up Clara and then go back to Empuriabrava to go to Síkim.

I got home that night absolutely destroyed and slept in really late this morning... The rest of today I’ve been chilling out! Well, I took Clara back home!

Coca Cola!

Hi there! Today I would like to talk about my favourite drink; Coca cola! Do you know that Coca cola was first used as medicine? Yup, they used it to relieve bad headaches, later on, as it gained good reputation they commercialized it and turned into one of the best well-known drinks in the world! Pretty incredible don’t you say?
What’s really surprising is that no one but the one that invented this commercialized knows the secret formula, they know some of the ingredients but none of us know all the ingredients and what quantity of the ingredients is used to make this special drink. It is said that the one who invented it has an apprentice that also knows how to make it because the creator isn’t going to be around forever...
It’s a very nice and refreshing drink on a hot sunny day but have you ever left a piece a meat during the night in a glass of Coca Cola or even your fallen out teeth? Damn... When you wake up that morning you find... if you find... a black tooth totally rotted away or the smallest piece of rotten meat! Imagine what large quantities of Coca-Cola can do to your organs! A lot of damage and that’s for sure! Mexico drinks 135,8L per family each year, then there’s America 96L and just behind Spain with a total of 95,4L per family each year! Spain, as we see is also a great consumer of this drink and I personally consider myself a big consumer of Coca Cola, I guess Clara too, Marta specially, Jake and so on!

I feel like having a very cold Coca Cola now! So I’m going to get one despite of all the bad things it does to us!

Man I hate them!



Man, I’m really starting to get annoyed with all this volcano ash trash! I think you know what volcano I’m talking about right? Yeah, the one in Iceland called… Some really weird name… Eyjakfalla or something like that!
As we know, this volcano has forced airports to close and flights to be cancelled… There’s the problem… Just that day my mum WAS going to Sweden but surprise surprise she never went because of the ash in the air!
I do love my mother you know? But, everyone needs a break from each other from time to time in my opinion! Well in the end that became the least of my worries really because every family needs a mum in the house, because otherwise us men live in a pig style… I hate saying it but its true! Who does my lunch, diner, washing up, cleaning, drying, scrubbing, shopping… mmmm… Mum! Well I have to say that mum went to Sweden a week later for a couple of days and the house is… well… how to put it… less clean than before!
This volcano has not only cancelled my mum’s flight, but it has also cancelled a concert I was going to in Barcelona! I couldn’t believe it! I was like; not again! What the hell! I was looking forward to that concert real badly… The best thing is that they cancelled it in November because the singer was ill and then it was cancelled last week because of the volcano! The real bad news is that they’re going to do the concert at Sant Joan, and all my friends aren’t going… Will I go alone? N0 I won’t!

I hate volcanos even if it’s a part of nature!

Final weeks of College!



These are finally the last weeks of College and probably one of the most stressful times yet, but life has to get harder for it to get easier later on! Everyone has gone through the same thing and everyone has managed so… I guess I’ll have to do the same thing won’t I?
Anyways, I have to celebrate because I have actually gone up this semester in Philosophy with a 7, and this last Chemistry exam I had an 8’4! Finally! I’ve been the whole year just scraping through and I’ve finally gained a positive result! I hope everything stays the same and I hope that I improve this last 3 weeks of College!
This is what I usually say: I you want something really badly; you’ve got to work for it! So that’s the stage in life I’m right now, I’m struggling but I’m working for it… I’m not the only one in this position do… luckily… everyone’s working so hard and we’re all so tired… We need a huge break and believe me, this summer I’m going to enjoy it big time! I’m going to party like I’ve never done before, I’m going to go explore like I’ve never done before and I’m going to work like I’ve never done before to have in the end a lot of money! Well that’s what I hope anyway!
Final push, I’m knackered but it is the last one!!!

Good luck to everyone for this next month!
We can do it.

dimecres, 17 de març del 2010

Self avaluation!

Hello to everyone!
I'd like to start of saying that presentation of the oral presentation deserves a 10%because I think that the resources I used were focused and they did support the topic that I chose to talk about and the timing was between the right standards.
I consider that a lot of gestures and eye contact was used because I wanted to catch everyone’s attention, I was trying to make everything a bit more interesting and not that boring becuase there's nothing worse than a boring oral presentation...

I didn’t even have my peace of paper to read because I have been studying and doing research about this project for over 8 motnhs, so I had a good idea what I was talking about!
Everything was well structured and I had an index to make it clear to people what I wanted to talk about. I started with the general ideas of the project and then I led it to smaller ideas so I think everyone was quite clear of our progress in the oral presentation! I did use markers like “first of all”, “on the one hand”, etc.

I really think that the content of the oral presentation couldn't have been any better becuase I just took out one of the most important topics and examples of the project and explained them enfront of the class.


Thirdly I think that my language was quite good, I tried to use different vocabulary all the time and I stopped every now and again to ask people if the understood what I was talking about.

Finally, I would like to say that I made my pronunciation as clear a possible; people did say that they understood what I was saying. I consider that my voice wasn’t at all monotone tone!

If I was the teacher I’d put myself… 9’8!

Oh yesh before I forget, David filmed me doinf the Oral with his mobile, but the problem is that he broke his screen about 3 weeks ago and he hasn't been able to fix it yet... So that means I can't post th video that we originally did in class!

Sorry!

Podcast!

dijous, 4 de març del 2010

Cupid's Chemistry!


Love can explain itself with science. It has been demonstrated that people are attracted to each other by the intimacy of the situation. The most successful method for flirting is mainly eye contact and body language. Scientists also demonstrated that people feel attraction when they experience fear together, that’s adrenaline.

Formal Letter!

Rakomako Street,17
(Girona) 147774
12th of January 2010

United States (Florida)
High Hill Street, 89b

Dear Mr.Clooney,
I write to you because of the scandal that took place at the Hopenhagen meeting. Is it apropiate for politicians to decide about our future’s planet?
I myself, think that politicians are not the right people to decide these problems because they can not even solve the simple problems that they have been given in their own country.
I sencerely do not see them as a great role model for society. Politicians, often or must of them, tend not to care about the actual problem that we have in hand, on the one hand they care more about economy and the investments they will have to do in the future to save the planet.

I hope you take this letter into consideration. Thank you very much for your time and attention.
Yours sincerely,
Marco Di Campo

dimecres, 3 de març del 2010

News!

For Aquariums, the Small Fry Swept North Become a Big Catch

Summary
From July to October, the Gulf Stream carries young tropical young fish known as orphans, strays, expatriates. Catching the fish up north is cheaper and less disruptive to ocean because they are unlikely to survive the winter. There’s an abundance of fish at North because of climate change.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/science/05fish.html?_r=1

Opinion
I think that it’s the right decision for Biologists to catch fish instead of normal fishing people because Biologist take in consideration that they’ve got to conserve the ecosystem unlike fishing people that do exactly the opposite. But I still do think that taking fish from the sea into an aquarium is not a quite a good idea even if they try to conserve the population of fish. The best thing to do is to make a breeding center for all kind of fish so then we wouldn’t have to mess with nature. The inconvenience of this is that the production of this breeding center wouldn’t be enough for the world aquarium population. But for me it’s a possible idea, one I would like to consider if one day I have the chance to do all of this stuff.


One-Third of U.S. Bird Species Endangered, Survey Finds

Summary
Habitat destruction, pollution and other problems have left nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species endangered, threatened or in serious decline. The report said that the population of grassland birds had declined by 40 percent and birds in arid lands by 30 percent. It estimated that 39 percent of bird species that depend on American coastal waters were in decline.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/science/earth/20bird.html

Opinion
As the news says, the ever growing human population is destroying and killing other populations, but there’s a reason for our success in nature, our intelligence and our capability of doing things has helped us to turn nature in our favor. If we think about it, we’re animals; the only difference is that we’re rational animals… But we do anything that any other species of animal would do if they had the biological efficiency that we have. It’s not really our fault; we’re just doing what any animal would do in their position, live!
But we’ve gone a bit too far because now what we are doing is harming the balance of life, so we are harming our planet, our own home… We are a plague, who will stop this plague?

F.D.A. Says Food from Cloned Animals Is Safe

Summary
Food from cloned animals and their progeny is safe to eat, clearing the way for milk and meat derived from genetic copies of prized dairy cows. Animal breeding takes time, so even with Tuesday’s actions; it is likely to be several years before products from the offspring of clones are at the grocery store in appreciable quantity.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/business/16clone.html
Opinions
I do think that things are going to far… I personally think that things are going too far because now we’re actually messing with nature. Nature is the mother of all living species because she’s the one that chooses which species survive and what species don’t. It’s not our paper to mess genetically with animals for our benefit. I think that all of this is too much and I don’t think that this clone process is actually necessary. I disapprove all these new ways to get food. Would you like to be cloned for you to be eaten? Don’t think so!

Who?

For my last entry on the Blog I would like to talk about a person that has become quite a lot for me these recent 2 years. Yup, it’s Clara!
I would like to give all my thanks to her because she has always helped me when I had difficulties, making me smile when I was sad or had a problem and making me laugh at the best of times.
It’s amazing how you end up depending so much on a person and how you grow on that person.
To tell you all the truth, I wouldn’t actually be here in the 2nd year of College if it wasn’t for Clara because the first year of College I had a great difficulty on the comprehension of the subjects and thanks to the effort that Clara made I was able then to understand and therefore study properly for my exams!

So I owe Clara a great deal. Besides all of this, and I think that everyone agrees, that she’s a very kind and also understanding person. She’s fun and she knows how to put order!
If she has a problem she will tell it to you in the face and she won’t go round your back, therefore she’s not a backstabber! That I can assure you!

She’s got a great personality and I think that a lot of people agree!

Thank you Clara!

Here's a funny image of the differences between a woman and a man!



See you in class!

Ranking time!

Hi there! How is everyone? I bet everyone’s a bit stressed because of all the horrible exams… Hey! Don’t worry we’re used to all of this pressure… If it’s not the research project it’s studying and reading books, and if it’s nothing of all of this… wait, there’s always homework and more studying! This is the last year at college and I really think that everyone is just very tired, but let’s go on with the hard work because this is the end!
Well today I would like to show you all, my Top 10 subject list! I have to say before I start that these rankings are no way related to the teacher, they are purely related on the personal liking of the subject! I repeat, the ways I rank the subjects are not related on the teacher’s teaching skills!

10. Tutoria
This is actually the easiest but most annoying subject there is. I think that it’s a pointless subject because we don’t actually learn anything and it’s another hour in school when I could be home doing some more useful stuff like homework or studying… But never mind, I won’t loose my sleep on it! Tutoria is great when you’re tired and you want to sleep!

9. History
I find that History just bore’s me to death! I try to be interested in the subject but I just can’t. I know that History is important because it’s the past of our ancestors, it’s the study of our evolution and progress of society. I don’t mind when we talk about all the wars there’s been during since mankind but I really really don’t care about what Queen married who and I really don’t care if she was Elizabeth II or Elizabeth IV. I also hate studying politics but I have to say that it might be useful for me in later life if one day I want to vote…

8. Catalan
I just really don’t like studying languages and that’s why I’m doing science… But I do accept that you do have to have a general knowledge of everything. Obviously I like to talk languages but I don’t like studying what we call “sintaxis”, it’s something that I'll never ever get in my life!
I don’t know how people can see if it’s an Atr, CD, CCT, CI… I just don’t get it!

7. Spanish
You know that Spanish was going to be next after what I said about Catalan! Well I prefer this language a bit more because Spanish is a global speaking language and so it’s a bit more interesting. You can go to South America and have a conversation with another person of that country.

6. Philosophy
Well I consider this subject one of the most interesting out of all the “non scientific” ones! I think that people like Descartes, Hume, Socrates… are very interesting and clever people. They invented and came up with things themselves without having the technology, so they really had to work hard to come up with what they came up. How can anyone think and rethink things like they did. Maybe if we did it know we would be a bit more advanced on new technologies. Philosophers made some great discoveries thousands of years ago.

5. English
I like this subject because as you know I don’t have the difficulty as I do in other subjects. Besides this, I think that English now is essential for everything, you know need English to surf the Internet and to relate yourself with a great variety of people.

4. Mathematics
Maths is OK… I just don’t get why we do most of the things. A lot of the stuff we do are a direct application to technology understanding of programs because we need to know how graphics a made and calculate them… I don’t what use it’ll do in later life! I only really need the basics.

3. Geology
I like this subject because I have a good vision about Geology problems so it isn’t a hard subject for me really. I learn how nature works and that’s quite interesting because we live in this world and we need to know when a catastrophe is going to happen or not like earthquakes, eruptions, tsunamis…

2. Chemistry
I’ve always like the idea of working in a laboratory, since I was a kid. I found that the bright colours and the different reactions that went on when two dissolutions came together were quite amazing. But now I see that Chemistry is more than that, it’s complicated but if you get it, it can be a lot of fun actually.

1. Biology
Biology is life. That is why for me it’s one of the most interesting subjects there is! Thanks to biology we find how our body works and therefore we find cures for illnesses. That means that thanks to biology life is greater than ever before.



Keep on studying!

dimecres, 24 de febrer del 2010

Cooking time!

My mum not long ago showed me how to make a typical English diner, “Actually she’s showed me how to make “Quick Shepherd’s Pie” and we call it like this because it’s a faster and easier way to cook this meal... I’m starting to learn to cook because soon I’ll be living all alone!



So here we have the ingredients we need to use:
- ½ pack of lamb or mince meat
- 1 pack of “Bisto” to make gravy
- 6 medium potatoes and latter on mash them
- ½ cup of water
- Salt and pepper
- Grated cheese to put on top of the mashed potatoes
- Finally, 2 teaspoons of butter

Now I’ll write down more or less the instructions you have to follow to cook it:
1) First of all, preheat the oven to 180ºC for at least 20 minutes.
2) Secondly, we have to put the mince meat and the ½ of water in the pan and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3) Boil the potatoes for at least 10 minutes and after mash them up and mix in with butter to prevent it of drying up.
4) While the mince meat is simmering we have to add the contents of the packet “Bisto” into the meat. Introduce salt and pepper.
5) Now we can poor the mince meat into the bottom of the casserole dish and after that we’ll put the mashed potatoes on top of the mince meat, covering the whole thing up. We sprinkle the grated cheese on top to give it more flavour.
6) Finally we put it in the oven for at least 20-25 minutes until the top of the Shepherd’s pie is browned.

If anyone wants to try a typical English meal, follow these instructions!
I recommend this dish to anyone, especially the ones that are going to London soon!

Good day!

dimarts, 23 de febrer del 2010

Carnival!


Hi... it’s Sunday 21st and I’ve lived to the full day and night... Yeah that’s right it’s been Carnival and I have enjoyed it big time! Do I regret it today...? Got hangover, I’m tired, my feet hurt... Nah, I don’t regret it at all! It was too great to miss...

Friday was a very busy day for me; first of all, we went to an excursion with the school to Girona University and got back from there at 3 o’clock. Straight after that, at 4 o’clock my driving teacher picked me up from home to go straight back to Girona again... I drove there and back from 4 to 8pm... When I got back home, Clara came straight away... it was her birthday that day and I planned a surprise diner for her!
Friends came and surprised her and then we went out to eat at a Restaurant called Il Nonno. We had a lovely diner, great pizzas and pasta. We all got out of there at 11pm and then we went to the Carnival at Empuriabrava! Great! Lovely! Don’t think so... By the end of the day I was shattered! Dead and gone... I just lasted 30 minutes, I was too tired.

Saturday was the big party! My friends, Clara and I dressed up as Guti (He’s a Madrid player), I’m not a fan of Madrid, we just made fun out of him like they do in Krakòvia!
We dressed ourselves in Madrid clothes, sprayed our hair blond and put on makeup on our face to make it a bit funnier...
It was a great night because there were a lot of people and we had a lot of fun! I’d go back if I could!

I recommend Carnival to everyone because it’s a good medication against stress!
Hope to see you all there next year!

C ya xxx

Fish!



Good afternoon to all! Today I would like to talk about a hobby I have enjoyed since I was just a child... I have kept tropical fish for at least 8 years in my 70L aquarium!
Unfortunately it’s a very hard hobby because fish are actually very delicate animals, they need perfect conditions to live in, a lot of species don’t get along with each other and some of them are quite expensive!
On the one hand, this hobby helps me to look after things and also be a bit more responsible. I personally think that having an aquarium is quite decorative and makes a bedroom just that little more special! This hobby has improved my knowledge about marine life; this works at my advantage because I would love to do a career as a Marine Biologist.
Now I would like to show you and explain to you the different fish that I have got at the moment, hope you enjoy!

First of all, we will start with the most common aquarium fish called the Neon tetra. As you can see in the image, this fish has a great fluorescent-blue colour going right across its body and below this blue stripe we also can observe red colouring at the end of its body. These fish grow up to be no more than 2’5cm long and they love going in groups of the same species of 20 individuals. They prefer an aquarium with many plants so then they can hide from other fish. They’re timid and pacific fish, in other words an ideal fish to keep.


Secondly, I also have a group of 5 platys. These fish are available in many colours, from red to orange, black to green, white to silver... Great hardy fish and very friendly, not scared at all, they even try to eat your finger if you put it in the aquarium. One of my platys has given birth to 50 little babies also known as fry.



Finally, I have my sucker mouth. This fish is very special to me because I’ve had for many years, it was one of my first fish I ever had, so I wouldn’t be afraid to say that it’s more or less 8 years old. This type of fish is loves cleaning the algae from the aquarium and it’s only lively at night time when the other fish rest. These fish live with any kind of fish because they’re very peaceful and relaxed. These fish can grow up to 50cm. I must say that mine is only 25cm long but that’s big enough for the aquarium I’ve got. Here you have a great photo of it!



Hope you’ve enjoyed it!

Danger!


Hi everyone, how are you? I hope that everything’s just great for all of you!
So yeah, it’s been a while since my last entrance. My last entrance was probably a couple of months ago... But don’t worry because I’m back on track and ready to right anything that slips through my mind!
Well, I’m very pleased and excited to say that I’m finally a driver! I’ve been waiting for this moment for 18 years (and so has my mother because she hates being a “taxi” driver).
I passed my practical exam just yesterday, Monday 22nd of February 2010, a date to remember for a long time...
I got up that morning at 6 o’clock with a very weird feeling in my stomach, it must have been my nerves and I also had a bad stomach after a whole weekend partying until 7 o’clock in the morning because of Carnival!
We arrived at Girona at 8 am. When we got there I found out that I had to examine myself on the easiest track “Celrà” so I was well pleased. I thought to myself: “Can’t get any luckier than this!”, but I was wrong... I was so lucky that I even got the easiest examiner there was that day!
While I was driving, she was just talking to my teacher about travelling... I was gobsmacked! Every now and again she told me to turn left or right, nothing very tricky. Only 10 minutes went by and she told me to stop on a nearby parked car, I thought I failed but she just told me that I passed! I was like, what the f***?!
So here I am with my “L” driving in my mum’s blue car, don’t worry, I haven’t crashed yet and don’t be scared if you see me because I’m actually not that bad!

Watch out!

Well got to go, I’ve got to go and park the car in the garage! Wish me a lot of luck!

dimarts, 1 de desembre del 2009

Joke!

diumenge, 29 de novembre del 2009

Human rights!

What are human rights?
Human rights are basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, the right to live, freedom of speach and equal to all othersand economic. Every person has to have the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

When did human rights start?
They were created in 1948.

Why were they created?
They were created because every individual deservs a good and decent life.

How many human rights are there?
There are 30 human rights

Which human right were you not familiar with?
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. I didn't really know this was a human right because many times people have acused, arrested and tortured inocent people for no reason. It's logical for it to be a human right even if a lot of people don't consider tihs human right.

Choose one human right and discuss:
- Is it fully respected in your country today? Justify with news, comments, studies on the subject (cite the links of your information sources)

- Do you know if it has been respected in the past? Why or why not?
-Where in the world is this right not complied with? Check here

Are Humans rights relevant in the world today?  why?

ARE PAPER BOOKS DEAD?


I'd like to say that this development can only take place in countries that are developed and not the ones that are developing. I think that a great majority of people still prefer to use paper books than digital ones.

First of all, we could say that at the moment this technology isn't as popular as people want it to be and I think that this is because this generation and the one before that have actually never had the right technology to do so.

Secondly, I do agree that the next generation to come will start to use this new technology.

To sum up, people at the moment don't use e-books a lot and that's because it's still very new and quite unusual to see. All of this can have anegative effect because of all the hours on the PC, it could lead to sanity problems.

Mail to Sonia



Hi there,
I know I'm a bit quiet at the moment but don't worry
that's only the first days, then I get more confident.

Well I don't know if my English is great but I try my best.
My Mum was from Sweden and my father was from Switzerland
and I was actually born in Figueres. But my step-dad was from
England, so I guess I have learnt from him over the years.

I find Batxillerat very stressing, specially because at high school
I was from " una classe de reforç" so I struggle a bit. But with hard
work I can do it.

I would like to be a Marine Biologist because it has always been my
dream. Since I was little I have loved the sea and the animals that live
in it. I find that the underwater world is beatiful and spectacular.
The sea is my passion.

C ya friday in class.

dijous, 26 de novembre del 2009

News!

How do you train a fish?

The Marine Biological Laboratory have been experimenting and training fish to gather when feeding time with a special tone that they use. They call this "acoustic fish ranching". It takes them 3 or 4 weeks to train them to learn this new discovery.
The potential application it can have is that you can farm fish without keeping them in cages because they respond to the sound and gather in a feeding zone.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8283701.stm

Device spells doom for superbugs.
A new device has been created and what it does is get rid of all the bacteria on the arms, legs and hands. This can be useful in places like the Hospital were people sometimes get bacteria like MRSA (superbug). This device creates plasma, this plasma contains various chemicals to kill bacteria and the most impressive thing is that it doesn’t seem to harm human skin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8379604.stm

In a Light More Flattering

Michael Jackson, a legend, a great singer… But what happened to him? He was a great example of Plastic surgery! He changed his face so much that it even didn’t look like that young sweet little boy anymore…
He did various nose jobs, he had his skin change to white (this created problems because people thought that Michael was racist), he had hair transplants, lip reduction and so many other things! He ended up being a totally different person… Is that actually good? Do you really want to change what is you and see someone else in the mirror? How would you react, would you be scared?

The problem is that Plastic surgery has become very popular over the last 10 years but the difference from then to now is that before only rich people could do it but now ordinary people can go and have it done!
Is this how we really want to end up?

When I walk down the road sometimes I see people that are quite weird looking and I always think the same thing… Someone else that has over done it in plastic surgery! It’s horrible!

I agree that you can have a small change in you because you want to feel better but people seem to go beyond that and go for more surgery and then they just look like other weird people!

Just be happy with your body even if it isn’t perfect, if you try to make a perfect body you’ll end up with the worst body of them all.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/fashion/13ROW.html

Self avaluation!

Hi there!
Well first of all I think that our presentation deserves the whole mark, 10% because I think that our resources were focused and they did support the topic that we chose to talk about and the timing was right.
I personally think that I did a lot of gestures and eye contact because I wanted to catch everyone’s attention, try to make the oral presentation a bit funnier and not so boring.
I’m pretty sure I didn’t even look at my peace of paper to read because I didn’t really need to, once I was out there I just talked like if I had a normal conversation with someone in private.

Everything was well structured and we had an index to make it clear to people what we wanted to talk about. We started with international humour first and then we went leading it on to smaller ideas so I think everyone was quite clear of our progress in the oral presentation! Clara and I did use markers like “first of all”, “on the one hand”, etc.

I guess that the content of our oral presentation could have been more extended but Clara and I didn’t really want to make it longer because after a while it just makes it boring… International humour can be hard to explain so for us to get up there and make people understand the topic… I think that we did a good job at it!
Thirdly I think that my language was quite good, I tried to use different vocabulary all the time and I stopped every now and again to ask people if the understood what I was talking about.

Finally, I would like to say that I made my pronunciation as clear a possible; people did say that they understood what I was saying.
My voice wasn’t at all monotone tone because I told a couple of jokes, made people laugh when I was talking, etc. I do need to calm my nerves do!

If I was the teacher I’d put myself… 9’4!

diumenge, 8 de novembre del 2009

ALL TIME SONG!

Today I would like to present to all of you one of my favourite songs of all time:
Metallica - Nothing else matters.

I have chosen to show you this song because I personally think that its one of the best composed songs so far. When I listen and read the words of this song my feelings become alive and I get emotional. I suddenly go back in time and remember all those good times I had when I was a child but also all the bad times or the hard times I had to go through to become what I am now.
What this song is trying to transmit to us is that you should live your life the best you can and let go of all your troubles and your surroundings.
This song has really helped me in the past to overcome my fears of life and just go for what I really want and not to be afraid because what’s coming has to come eventually and the best thing to do is to deal with it.
We could say that this song written by Metallica has been until now a role model that I have followed to pull through the hard times and the ones to come.

Life is ours, we live it our way

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Metallica – Nothing else matters

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
and nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they say
never cared for games they play
never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
and I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

Here we have a video of the song, live!

SATURDAY: HANDBALL MATCH!

After training the whole summer I finally had a Handball match this weekend. But it didn’t really go according to plan.
First of all, Saturday morning I got up at 9 o’clock to take my dog to the veterinary because she had been feeling ill during the week, the vet said that it wasn’t bad news; she only had an infection… Ufffff that was lucky!
After the veterinary I went directly to Castelló d’Empúries to play my handball match that I was so looking forward too. We were playing against Banyoles B and I must say that they were a couple of years older than us but that didn’t bother me because the smaller and younger you are, the quicker you are, therefore the more goals there should be (Well that’s my theory and sometimes I’m right but a lot of times I’m wrong).

Anyway, getting back on track, during our match we played the hardest we could and we won’t doing that bad considering that we were a lot younger than them.
When the first part of the game finished both teams went to their dressing rooms. Suddenly one of the other teams members came running towards our dressing room and told us that someone had stole all their stuff while they were playing the match with us!
They stole everything! They stole wallets, money, IPod’s, DNI, mobiles and even some of their clothes! My question is: Who has got the guts to steal from a public space?
We tried to find the people that stole all their valuable objects but we never found them… The other team was very angry because of the situation they were in, they decided to leave! So that was the end of that great match... So yeah, I was a bit disappointed, wouldn’t you be disappointed?

But guess what? In the end I played another handball match that same day but with older people that were in C.H Esplais. I was the youngest there because the others were 25 years old and upwards! Some of the players on the other team had children and everything, so I felt quite weird… But I did great on that match because at the end I scored more goals than anyone else in the team!

So I guess that my theory does work sometimes!

MY RESEARCH PROJECT!

I have been thinking on what to write about all day and I’ve finally decided that today I would like to talk to you about my research project.
I’m doing a research project about Cala Montjoi. I have to study and calculate the quantity of animals that live there, so I’m doing a biological study of the site.
I have divided the bay in 5 zones in different areas because what I want to do is to compare the quantity and the different species of animals that you can find from one place to another.
There can be many reasons why there should be a difference from one zone to another, like for example; the wind and the waves of the sea can be a main reason for this distribution of aquatic animals. They can influate quite a lot because maybe some species of animal prefer to live in opened seas and maybe the others prefer to live in sheltered areas that protect them from the wind and the waves or currents of the seas.

During the summer I’ve had to go every Sunday by boat to Cala Montjoi to analyse and see the number of species that are there. I have had to go in the sea the sunny days but I also had to go in when the sea was quite rough!
I was very scared to go in when the sea was rough!

Oh yeah! Before I forget! I also had to take photos of the animals I found under water with an aquatic camera! I have to say it was quite difficult to take photos of the fish. They just wouldn’t sit still! So I had to chase them like a lunatic!

Now that I’ve done the practical part, now comes the worst part of the research project! The theory!

So that’s a whole lot more hours on the computer! (Just what I needed!)

Research project!

dissabte, 7 de novembre del 2009

MY PETS!

Well since I have been a little child I have always loved animals, I guess it’s a bit weird because boys normally seem to prefer motors like motorbikes or the latest car model…
Because of my interest in animals, I have always had pets at home. I have had dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, rabbits and I have even had 2 chickens at my back garden! Now I’m going to explain what has happened to all my pets going from when I was just a baby until now:
My first two dogs were called Billy and Emma and they were still around when I was 4 years old. Billy died when he was 8 years old because he had an enlarged heart and they had to put him down because he was very ill. Emma had puppies and the day after I don’t know why she ate them all… Emma died of old age.

Then we had a cat. We had a Ginger cat but the only problem was that he was nasty and he scratched a lot. We had to get rid of him!

When I was 6 years old my dad gave me two birds… I always let them free in my bedroom and I never looked after them… so my mother got rid of them too!

My mother got 2 rabbits for the family… my dad gave them herbs from a field; soon after they died… we discovered that the herbs actually had pesticides!

4 years ago we thought that it would be funny to get 2 chicks form the Medievals they do in Castelló every year. It was a good idea because we got eggs everyday but our garden stunk… We gave them away to a farm…

My uncle gave us 2 terrapins 6 years ago, one died because it got stuck under water and it couldn’t breath (it was my sister’s) and then I gave my one away last week because it was to big to keep… It’s in the Butterfly Park so it’s actually better off.

I have pond fish and tropical fish in the house, but they seem to survive quite good so we still have them. And finally we have a dog that is now 9 years old and she seems to be doing fine too!


HERE STARTS THE FLU!

You bet! Flu is back… And like always I’m one of the first ones to get it! I’m stuck here at home and very bored! Well, but I’m actually not alone this time because I have passed it on to my sister and Clara!
I think that they’re both quite annoyed with me! Can you imagine us all snuggled up on the sofa with a thick cover over us and hundreds of snotty tissues? It’s horrible!

We are just praying that it isn’t swine flu, otherwise we’re all doomed! We’re all alone because my parents are in Ireland (Dublin) at the moment… Damm… I haven’t been able to pass them my virus!
While I’ve been here with a cold, I have actually asked myself what are the signs and what is it?

Signs: Fatigue, muscle aches, throat irritation, fever, sneezing, watery eyes and runny nose. These are the all too familiar symptoms of the flu.
What is it?
It’s a virus that attacks the respiratory system and it can cause epidemics.


Well I just want to say that I hope that everyone in the class gets it so we can all have a couple of days off school and chill out!

Everyone that’s ill…. Get better!

FRIENDS BDAY PARTY!

Hi there! So how is everyone?

Well I bet that everyone’s quite stressed because of all the exams, homework and especially because of the research project! But let’s not worry about it… There’s only a month left before we have to hand it in! Then we’ll have less work to do, or not!

So today I would like to talk about the great time me and the others had on one of my best friend’s parties.
Not so long ago it was my best friend’s party and he was having it in Barcelona, so we all had to go by train. It took about 1h 45min to get there and while we were at it, I took advantage of the time to read Dorian Gray! It was quite difficult to read the book because of moving in the train! Once we got there at 8 o’clock at night we went to McDonald’s and we bought 90 hamburgers of 1euro, so we spent 90euros between us all! When we told the staff at McDonald’s that we wanted 90 hamburgers they couldn’t believe it! I can’t blame them! Who would ever want 90 hamburgers! I have to say that I spent 10euros on hamburgers so that means that I ate 10 hamburgers alone! I’ll never ever eat a hamburger!

After eating our huge meal we got dressed and ready to go out and party in discos. The surprise was when suddenly a Hammer Limousine drove up to us and opened the doors! Yup, you bet! Our Birthday boy hired us this huge luxurious car for the night! The limousine was great; it had sofas, champagne, TV, music and later on it had girls… All right! After being an hour in the limousine it later left us in front of the disco where we had a great time and danced all night and all morning!
It has to be done again!