Hmmmm....

As I sit here in the GRCC library with a warm laptop on me, I look out and see that it is raining on one side of the library and not on the other. Now, this is typical for Washington, but the cloudy side is the side without rain and the clear side is the side with rain. I was just wondering, when did mother nature decide to take an acid trip?

Second Best Investment of 2009

sandisk.co.uk

The #1 investment of 2009 was my Camera, and this doesn't even hold a candle to that, but that is a sign of how highly I regard my camera and not a slant against this wonderful piece of 21st century tech. The best investment of 2010 are the Skullcandys I got to go with this bad boy. I have the 8GB silver version of this and I'm not to sure how I survived without it. I used to carry some music files on my phone or PSP, but never really listened to them unless I was really bored or had to find a way to get to sleep in a foreign bed. I had been collecting music on my computer for years but it mostly just stayed on the computer and took up space. The main reason I got this was the desire to play Madden on my PSP while listening to my own music and not the crap in the game. Ever since I got it though, you will be hard pressed to find me without it. It is on me more than my camera, and that is saying something because my camera sticks to me like an extra arm. I fly through homework much faster when I can listen to my music and boring car rides are now passed in leisure instead of sick because I have something else to concentrate on. I think that is why it helps so much with homework. Because the frontal abstract part of my brain is busy listening to music, the creative and more literate part my brain can be tapped more efficiently and used to my benefit. Even now, while I right this, I am listening to Steve Miller Band. I have most of my favorite songs on this thing and it barely takes up a quarter of its memory capacity. If I had to though, I could increase its memory from the internal 8GB to an outstanding 40GB with a Micro SD card. Now, I have an extremely eclectic taste in music, and am constantly changing music according to my mood. I can go from classic rock, to Hawaiian, to new age, and end up in native Africa. The easy navigation of the firmware and the simple physical design are both pluses and I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes music of any kind and in any location. The only issue I have with it is how often I need to charge it, but I guess that is my fault for having it one for 6+ straight hours each day ;).

Storms

There is some crazy weather around here today.

Check out the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJu6oBmnxHI

KSD screws up agian.

The Kent School District, in their infinite stupidity, have come out with ideas on how to save the nearly 6 million dollars that they need to stay afloat. Among these ideas are to eliminate music programs, Golf, Judo, full time tech specialists, labor workers, assistant principals at both the Middle School and High School level, and clerical positions across the district. All in all, there are 44 different things to cut or eliminate to save a total of 5 plus million dollars out of the 6 million they need. Now, I'm very great full to the KSD for providing me with a good education and a diploma, not to mention some fantastic memories, but this is just stupid. I remember at Kentlake HS in 2008-2009, they were forced to eliminate 6 teachers in order to save money which we already had. None of the students liked it, none of the staff liked it, but all 6 teachers were let go in order to save money the district already had, to pay the admins. Now, if they are able willing to cut teacher's positions to save their own salaries, then have the nerve to eliminate Music programs and popular sports programs to supposedly save money, what will be cut next? The para-educators who do just as much work as the teachers for far less money? The art classes that make certain days in school worth attending? The football programs?

This is a prime example of a failure or corruption at the top, which trickles its way down through the rest of the administration to the point where the students are suffering. Cutting music and sports? That is seriously stupid. These kids need the creative outlet in order to be good students. It isn't all test scores people. The things they are proposing to cut are vital to the students future, not to mention the livelihood of all people filling the positions they are threatening. Here's a thought, how much money would we save by cutting administration salaries by 15%? 1 million dollars? 2? 3? Maybe even the whole 6 million that they need. Just sayin.

Here are the results of a public poll to see what the community thought the district should cut.

http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/ksd/it/budget/deploy/documents/survey_results.pdf

Skullcandy Ink'd

Skullcandy.com

Okay, I have had these for four days now and I think that these are the best headphones I have ever owned. The sound quality is amazing and they actually have bass! It makes listening to Queen worth while again. As I'm sure with any in-ear headphones, it takes a couple of days for your ears to get used to the feeling, but everything is working out well. They look really cool wrapped around my Sansa Fuze and the speaker themselves actually look like speakers, not little fuzzy lint. It comes with three sizes of rubber tips for your ears, and even the smallest cancel noise better than I've had with other headphones. The skull is a little weird to look at, but it is a small price to pay for such quality. Speaking of price, they retail at $19.99, but you can get them for $10 at Best Buy when they have them on sale. The range on these things is amazing, and the gold plated connector ensures the best quality from the player to you ears. Overall, these have to be the second best investment I've made this year and have a life expectancy of 3-6 YEARS! Skullcandy make both earbuds and regular headphones that are second only to Bose I think. Brian's rating 4.5/5.






Edit: Well, they lasted to June 18, 2010. That is pretty disappointing considering the hype. The left speaker blew so now I can only hear out of the right side. Maybe I used them too much and I probably shouldn't have wrapped them up as much but I'm still kind of disappointed. Mom's crapped out too, same problem. I plan on getting some more as soon as I can get my hand's on another $20.