I am announcing my school passion project: make a Minecraft server for charity!
Check out updates on how things are coming along here.
I hope to have this up and running or at least privately up and running by spring break.
1. Cat Memes
2. Cat and Dog Shaming
3. Pictures of cats with wings
4. BUGS
5. Cute drawings of bugs
6. DRAGONS
7. Cute minecraft drawings
I met bill Nye the science Guy. I met him at the Hands on Museum, when I was asked up on stage. I forgot when it was, but never mind that.
I think that Bill Nye is cool because he does science, he went to Cornell University, and he is funny. those are just some of the reasons,but to list them all would be like saying, type 2,000,000 words. He is, after all, my idol.
In the experiment, there were two coils of copper wire, connected by more copper wire. in one end, there was a compass in the coil, and the coil on the other side was empty. Bill Nye moved the magnet back and forth through the empty coil, moving the compass needle.
This proved that Faraday was right about the relationship between magnetism and electricity.
I got invited to the Governor’s Service Award Ceremony as one of five finalists in my category, Youth Service Project of the Year, one out of eight categories. There were 40 finalists in total.
Let’s start from the beginning. I was nominated by one of Mom’s friends, Carole Baker, for the service award(s). I had no idea that I had been nominated, but I was to focused on community service, and besides, I was coming up with new ideas for “For The Homeless” to worry about that.
The letter that came was fancy and formal, and the envelope and card together for 40 finalists probably costed nothing short of a fortune. The theme was “A Night With The Stars” at the Gem Theater in Detroit, MI. It was a surprise I had been nominated, but even more of one that I was a finalist.
At the Ceremony, the finalists got pictures with the Governor. During the ceremony, A Beatles band, called Toppermost, played in between the different awards. I did not win, however I still got a lot of publicity. I was probably the youngest finalist in the history of the awards. I am hoping to get nominated next year, too!!
I have allergies and asthma and they often clash, causing mucus, coughing, nausea, and tiredness. I am allergic to pollen, ragweed, mold, cats, dogs, and hay. I also have one main cross between ragweed and pollen, creating the “hyper allergy” of ragweed pollen. Currently I am suffering from my allergies and nausea, and that is why I am wearing anti-nausea bands. The nausea is caused by my snurfling and swallowing the mucus. My allergies stink!
Here are six things that allergy sufferers can do to make things better:
1. Avoid the allergens to prevent more allergens from coming in. Also use a nasal rinse and then blow excess out, then put medicine or something to prevent more from coming in.
2. Make sure you use allergy medicines and nose spray to help clear the mucus away. Use Motrin or Ibuprofen to reduce swelling so you can breathe through your nose and continue doing this until the allergies completely go away.
3. Make sure you watch out for high allergen days if you have seasonal allergies. It will help if you stay inside for most of the day.
4. Keep windows and sliding glass doors shut to keep outside allergens out! Indoors can be quite boring, so hire or buy entertainment. Get your parents to get everything for you if you are feeling nauseous. Then you don’t have to throw up! Keep on writing, and do things carefully since you don’t want to barf! Your immune system needs extra help, so wash your hands and make sure no germs get into your body.
5. Drink lots of liquid. Your body needs it to help stay healthy. Don’t forget your vitamins! they are important to help your immune system protect your body!
6. Getting your sleep is important! Without it you will be feeling crabby and tired. Sleep will also make you better quicker, because your other functions are at rest!
My favorite of these ideas is taking your medicine because it will help you feel better. What’s more, it will help you fall asleep faster and in a deeper sleep.
On Saturday, we left my Aunt Jessica’s house to go to the Locust Lake State Park, Pennsylvania where we would be staying in tents for two days and one night. Once we got there, we set up the tents and new sleeping pads. After that we went to look for periodic cicadas in a forest, but you had to go to a higher elevation while still in the forest. Here’s what you need to know about periodic cicadas. Periodic cicadas are about 2 to 3inches in length, and about 3/4-1inch in length, about the same in height. They do not fly very well, and do not weigh that much. Their life begins when a mother cicada lays her eggs in a Y-like slit in a young tree branch. The eggs eventually hatch into little tiny babies smaller than a fingernail. Those babies then hop off the tree and onto the ground. They then start to burrow down into the ground, where they suck on the tree sap/juice. After about 13 to 17 years, depending on the species, they will come out in massive numbers. And all of them, except the ones who don’t make it, split their exoskeleton to molt. Once they are out of their old exoskeleton, you are able to see small, shriveled wings, which will open up and harden when the cicada pumps blood into them. Sometimes the process fails and the cicada can’t get out of its shell, or it doesn’t pump the blood fast enough, causing the wings to stay wrinkled or shriveled up. Other things can harm it too. Birds and other bug eating animals also will eat the cicadas. When it survives, and if it is a male, the cicada will start to call “bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-up” to find a mate. It will start to move towards an unfertilized female in hope of mating with it. If it is a female, it will just sit there until a male comes to mate. If they do mate, the female will make a Y shaped slit in a young twig or tree and insert her eggs. The process starts over. Unlike popular belief, adult cicadas need to eat too. They feed on tree sap and have needle-like mouthparts with which to create a hole in the tree to feed from. You can prevent them from doing damage to young trees by putting nets around them. The only parts of the tree they will damage are peripheral branches. Other than that they will do no harm. They will not harm you or hurt you, and are not known for spreading disease. It was all too soon when we had to go, but I couldn’t stay. I was happy and sad. I was sad because I would not see them for another 17 years, and happy because I got to keep a few! They were very amazing, and they were so adorable! I can’t wait until I am 28, when I will see them next! I really hope to write another blog post on other long-living insects!
Here is a list of ipad games I reccomend: Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle, Peggle Night, Tiny Wings, and Minecraft. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Plants vs. Zombies, so I’ll tell you how to play. First, after getting the app, you create a user. you can have multiple users if you like. After that, click adventure. The game will teach you from there. In Peggle the objective is to hit all the orange pegs in a level using a limited amount of balls. You have to master each level to complete the game. Peggle Night is the same. Tiny Wings is a game where you have to level up, but your wings are too small. You must find a different way to do that. Minecraft is a game in which there are no levels, but it is instead a game of survival.
On Saturday I went to the Huron River Watershed Council River Roundup. This is a research program that checks rivers to see if they’re healthy by seeing what kinds of aquatic insect larvae are there. Certain insect larvae are sensitive to pollution and will determine if the rivers are healthy. There are 3 different types of helpers: Collectors, Leaders, and Pickers. The Collector goes into the river and scoops up rocks and dirt, and hopefully, insects, as well as water samples and water for the pickers. The Leader keeps the team organized and also takes the water and bugs to the pickers. The Pickers take the trays the Leader takes them and squirts some of the water they bring onto rocks and into the trays of stuff and bugs from the river. They also pick out the bugs and pick at the rocks. I was a Picker. Next up is bug ID!
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are movie stars! They are popular in movie sets because they need moisture to live, therefore they can’t dominate the movie studio. Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are large insects that are brownish orange in color, with brownish blackish markings at the beginning and end of each segment. They are insects and therefore coldblooded, so they appreciate their warm home in Madagascar. Hissers, as they are known, are 2-3 inches in length and weigh about 0.8 ounces. A hisser tends to stay on all 6 of its legs, giving it a height of about 0.25-0.5 of an inch. They live for about 2-5 years. With each molt, or instar, they get bigger and never stop growing until they die. They tend to be black during their first instar, and lighten as they grow. They can only hiss when they’re on their 4th instar or older.
The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach lives in Madagascar, and is nocturnal. They are most active during the night, except for when the males fight during the day. They are not poisonous or dangerous, although some people find them really creepy. Hissers aren’t endangered and their ancestors have been on land since before the first fish crawled out of the sea! In the wild, they live in the rainforest floor in Madagascar. They live under and in logs, where they can stay hidden and moist. In captivity, they live in aquariums or other tanks where they are kept as pets, exhibits or food for reptiles. In my bedroom, they live in a glass aquarium beside my bed. They will eat any fruit, veggie, or carbohydrate, even dog or cat food. They reproduce easily and are easy to raise, so they probably won’t go extinct in captivity. I do worry about them in the wild, though.
Madagascar’s cockroaches and other creatures are being threatened by deforestation. One cause of deforestation is ranching. Large agriculture companies and small farmers as well cut the trees down to make more land for grazing cattle and growing crops. While this makes more food for people, and makes sure rainforest creatures aren’t eaten, but they go extinct by deforestation. Another cause of deforestation is logging to get paper and more wood to fuel the poorer Madagascans’ stoves. It does make them happy and warm, but it makes the rain forest animals vanish. People are also cutting down the rain forests to make room for roads and houses.
We need to help! Here we are being lazy and doing nothing about deforestation. We as humans started deforestation all around the world, and continue it! Though other conservationists are working on it, we think we can’t do anything about it. Think again! We all can help by getting word out to others to start helping. We can also send protesting letters, which are especially helpful in large numbers. We can make choices about what company we buy wood and paper products from. We can help poor people get better jobs.
Maybe hissers’ popularity in movie sets will help save them. We have so many exotic species to save. We need to help, and continuing to deforestate isn’t helping! We are constantly growing, and need more room. We must start to move elsewhere, but not the rain forest! We are trying to help. We must work fast. The logging companies don’t seem to care. So we need to. Let’s go save the rainforest.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Arthropoda
CLASS: Insecta
ORDER: Blattodea
FAMILY: Blaberidae
SUBFAMILY: Oxyhaloinae
TRIBE: Gromphadorhinini
GENUS: Gromphadorhina
SPECIES: Gromphadorhina Portentosa
At insectapalooza this year at Cornell, on October 20th, 2012 there were cockeroach races, a butterfly room, scorpions, millipedes, and many more! If I could volenteer there, I would be doing the scorpion, tarantula, millipede, praying mantis, and walking stick handling. There are labs on the 4th floor that are off limits, but I got to go there the day before to see Dr. Rayor’s lab. There were social spiders there that were being studied. There was also face painting. I got a display case for pinning insects. Then, since there weren’t any bugs for sale, in Lansing we went to Preuss Pets, where I got a baby emperor scorpion and a curly haired tarantula. bugs rock! I named the scorpion Lansing. I named the curly haired tarantula Curls.
 | Frank E. Fee Jr. on Governor’s Service Award |
 | PennyfromHeaven (Les… on fun ipad games i reccomen… |
| Frank Fee on Periodic Cicadas |
 | Aaron Tellier on Periodic Cicadas |
 | Anita Campbell on Periodic Cicadas |
Bugs and Science 