Hockey and Physics

Ice hockey is one sport that has the widest array of physics elements in it. One of the most exciting events in hockey is the slapshot. The hockey players use this technique to send a puck flying through the air at over 150 km/h or more. The slapshot is a collision between the puck and the hockey stick. The upper body has to wind up and begin an acceleration of the middle of the body, shoulers, and arms. Then the stick black comes into contact with the puck and the ice, causing the stick to bend accumulate potential energy. Finally, the puck leaves the stick and returns to its origanal shape as the puck heads towards the net. The scientist assume the collision to be an elastic collision with the stick and the hockey player, and the puck. The is plenty of elasticity in the stick to make it a fair approximation. Iwi=Iwf + rmv, where I, wi, and wf are the moment of inertia of the player and stick system, and its angular velocity just before and after the collision. The puck of mass lies at a distance of the axis of rotation of the player and leave with a velocity. The puck speed is proportional to the spinning velocity of the player. The larger I is, the faster the slapshot, and this is where body mass and positioning come into play. In the limit when I mr^2, the puck reaches a max velocity of v=2wir. The speed limit as close to that of what occurs in linear collisions. The trick to getting the speed on a slapshot would be the ice. The stick must hit the ice and glide on the ice before hitting the puck. The thing is to hit the ice with the stick about thirty centimeters away from the puck. The outcome is more bending of the stick and more power to the puck. The player pushes against the ice to let the stick bend, and then they let the stick do the rest of the work. Hockey is the fastest and most contact sport in the world. Hockey players complete a lap around the rink in about fourteen seconds starting from rest. They are getting an average velocity of forty km/hr. Though rarely happening at maximum speed, collisions send significant impact forces to the body. In the collision the amount of kinetic energy used is the factor determining the impact force and injury to the player. Hockey is a very contact sport. Scientist have found equations and ways to figure out the forces of hockey. Hockey is a sport where potential energy is turned into kinetic energy.

Too Good to Play

A nine-year old Connecticut boy was banned from pitching on his little league baseball team because the oppositions said he was too good.One team went as far as to forfeit the game when he took the mound. A pitch was never thrown. This to me is showing the other kids how to quit and not work hard to beat the kid. Many people see competition as a challenge and try to work harder at beating the competition, not quitting. It's sad the kid cant use his talent at his young age. The more successful one becomes, the more confidence they build up for the future.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-08/26/content_6970889.htm

Cell Phones Harmful?

Cell phones have become a part of the body for some, but now they may become harmful to the body. Many people are taking precautions these days with using cell phones due to the analysis of USPMC Cancer Centers. It is said that the long term use of cell phones may cause cancer. We thought texting while driving was bad, it is nothing compared to cancer. One way to limit this is keeping a device away from the head and using text messages more often. The cell phone will never be banned I believe, it is a part of too many people's lives. Companies are just gonna have to make adjustments to the devices.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08205/898803-114.stm

My mother is on Facebook

My mother has seemed to find out how to get and use a Facebook page. Yeah I know it is a little scary. That is what happens when you have more than one computer at home. You get your mom and your whole entire family on there, and of course you cannot ignore them. I did like Facebook when it started because it had a less “we want your money” feeling than now. There were no advertisements or anything of that sort and we actually loved it more when we would chat with our friends. Nor did everybody find the nerd who started it added to their profile already. But now Facebook went downwards more than ever, with its lame layout that is not going to change at all and with everyone knowing what you did last night. For example, one of my friends supposedly commented on another friends profile about a party; let’s call him John. Well apparently John’s mom, dad, and pretty much the rest of the family have Facebook. So what my friend did was pretty stupid because he knew they would see it. He went to John’s Facebook and wrote, “JOHN! Last night was awesome until we were run away from the party by the cops.” Well John is underage and has a very conservative family, so he gets chewed out by his dad, mom, and the rest of the family. You know it’s hard when your mom knows everything that is going on your Facebook. I do check it of course, so that I do not get in too much trouble. All of my mom’s friends have one and you know women gossip about everything among each other, so I usually end up getting caught by them. Now with all the applications, stalking, boring stuff that slows your computer down, and everybody finding out your life story and what you did last night, I don’t visit it very often. It became more of a here and there weekly check. I still talk to my friends and try to stay out of pictures as much as possible.

No Garfield?

What would Garfield comics look like without Garfield? They would look just plain weird. The comic just would not be the same. Some of the strips are pretty funny, some are sad, others seem kind of weird, and some look like the struggle of everyday life for people. He is fighting loneliness without anybody there to keep him going.

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/page/6

Boston knocked off

The Angels and Vladimir Guerrero shrugged off their postseason failures and swept away the Red Sox on Sunday, scoring three runs off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to beat Boston 7-6 and advance to the AL Championship Series. It was the first postseason sweep in Angels franchise history. And they did it against the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the previous four times they met. Papelbon was one strike away from extending the series with three different batters, but Aybar singled on a two-strike pitch, Chone Figgins walked after fouling off a full-count offering and Bobby Abreu fouled off three straight pitches before doubling in one run. Hunter was walked intentionally before Guerrero singled the first pitch to center and Figgins and Abreu raced home to give Los Angeles a 7-6 lead. Major league saves leader Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth, and when Aybar caught Dustin Pedroia's popup to end the game, pumping his right arm even as he tracked the ball with his left, the Angels advanced. The Red Sox had been dominating and won 12 of 13 postseason games against the Angels heading into the series, including an 11-game winning streak that dated back to Dave Henderson's homer off Donnie Moore in the 1986 ALCS. Henderson, not coincidentally, threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday, even adding a little jump and twist like the one he did after he helped propel Boston to within one strike of the 1986 World Series title. For the AL West champion Angels, it was a chance to extend their tribute to pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed in an April car crash with a man who has been charged with drunken driving. As they streamed out of the dugout to celebrate, and Jered Weaver carried Adenhart's jersey onto the field.
An eight-time All-Star and former AL MVP, Guerrero has a .321 career batting average, 407 regular-season homers and 1,318 RBIs. But he had managed only one extra-base hit in 69 at-bats going into Game 3, and he had one RBI in 19 playoff games since his grand slam against Boston in the 2004 division series. And he came through in a clutch spot against Papelbon , who had never before allowed a run in 27 postseason innings and had seemed to be unstoppable. Guerrero dedicated his gaming winning hit to Adenhart saying, “When it comes down to honoring Nick Adenhart, and what happened in April in Anaheim, yes, it probably was the biggest hit of my career, because I'm dedicating that to a former teammate, a guy that passed away.”

The Angels are scheduled to play the ALCS on Friday against what it looks to be the New York Yankees as they lead their series against the Minnesota Twins 2-0.

Is Favre ready for the Packers?

Brett Favre looks to start his record two hundred seventy-third start against his former team, but now rival, Green Bay Packers Monday night. The Vikings and Packers have one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL, with Green Bay holding the all-time series lead 49-46-1. This is about as big as a regular season game can get. Favre says there is no way a sore right foot will keep him out of the game. Favre has defeated 31 different NFL teams during his career and can become the first player in league history to beat all 32. The only team in his way is the Green Bay Packers. The Minnesota Vikings are 3 and 0 this season with Brett Favre as the quarterback. But are Favre and the Vikings ready for his old team, the Green Bay Packers, and Aaron Rogers?
With Favre's 16 prolific years throwing passes for the Packers and departure on bad terms last summer, the intrigue has exploded up. Vikings QB Brett Favre will play his first game against the team he called home for 16 years. “It's a Monday game and obviously people are going to be excited for that,” linebacker Chad Greenway said. “Obviously Brett playing Green Bay is going to be the biggest headline. We're aware of all those things that go on. We hear about it every day. We've just got to maintain a level of consistency as far as the way we practice and prepare. We have a pretty veteran locker room here, and I think that's going to help us out this week.”
Brett Favre is getting on down the line a little bit in the age department. The game winning touchdown pass from Favre last week with seconds to go saved the game against the San Francisco 49-er’s. “I think he still throws the ball with good velocity. I think it was clearly evident just on the last throw of the San Francisco game. It was an excellent throw and a great catch. I think he still has good feet. He's always had great command of the line of scrimmage, just the way he has handled that aspect of it. I think he looks sharp,” said the Vikings head coach. Age does not seem to be a factor for Brett Favre, as he has 566 yards through the air this season and a QB rating of 94.5, both are above the NFL average. Favre was known for his velocity when he was in his younger days. At this age in his career he has focused more on being a crafty quarterback and not the gunslinger his image as circled around. As Favre has aged, his style has evolved. The Packers have added a new defense to their arsenal this year to try and cut down the passing game. This leaves the Packers 23rd in the NFL against the ground game. We look for Brett Favre to hand the ball to Adrianne Peterson a little more against Green Bay Monday night.
A win for the Minnesota Vikings would put them at 4 - 0. This would give them the first 4 – 0 start since the 2003 season. The win will definitely be a confidence booster and motivator for the Vikings. The Vikings are looking strong behind Favre this season.

Dude

“Who uses the word dude? How do people see the word?” Dude, an untranslatable word, has many different meanings but to most that use it, the word usually tends to have one meaning. Many see the word as being a male in gender, but many also tend to use the word for both genders. Dude came about in eighteen seventy-three when it was first used in speech. One of the earliest books to use the term was the Home and Farm Manual. Jonathan Periam, who wrote the book, used the term several times to denote an ignorant man from the city. Originally, dude referred to the hair at the base of a horse's tail. In the late eighteen hundreds, horse ranches became known as "dude ranches". And therefore, the men who worked on a dude ranch became known as "dudes". Dude quickly spread to California. There many of the surfers picked up the term and used it quite often. From New York to California, the term dude spread quickly throughout the United States.
The term “dude” may also be used as a job description: for example, the man that runs a bush hook as a job, his title would be called “the bush hook dude.” Later it was used in the old west to mean a city person who moved to the west without actually knowing what he was doing. It is synonymous with “city-slicker.” Dude can be used to interrupt another person’s conversation, attract one's attention, or to awake a stoner from a staring spell. It is synonymous with "excuse me" or "pardon me." Another very interesting definition of dude, reportedly, is the camel’s penis or the hair on the end of an elephants’ butt. I cannot find outside evidence to corroborate this, but I have actually had a person tell me that, and it is an element of popular “wisdom” that dude carries such a meaning.
“Dude” is mostly used by people as a noun referring to a person. “Dude, how did you do that?” Dude is taking the place of the name of the person the speaker is talking to. “Dude, you played a great game yesterday.” It can also be used as a verb: “to get dude up,” or to dress in one’s best clothing. “He is getting dude up for the wedding tonight.” This would be an example of getting dude up, or looking the best that he possibly can. But why do people use this word? Many choose to use the word mainly because it is friendly, informal, and not at all boring. It can be used as any kind of response to any question that one might have. “Do you want to go to the park and play some baseball?”...... “Dude!” In this case the responder is saying yes I would love to and sounds excited about going to the park. Dude can also have a softening or connecting effect when the word is used. Someone at a concert is standing on your toe. “Dude,” lets them know that you are on the same level as them, or that you are “cool with” them.
In the community of friends that I spent my entire life with, “dude” was very popular and was used in many various occasions. It can be used in a sentence to replace umm or like when a person is thinking about completing a sentence. “And then...dude...dude...dude, man I forgot.” This is an example of completing a sentence with the word dude. On the other hand we have “Duuuude, how did you complete the whole game with a broken arm?” or “Oh my god! That teacher was so stoned; Cameron and I were both like "Duuuude." These are examples where the term dude is used with emphasis. Saying the word dude is also a whole lot easier than remembering everyone’s names. Many people respond to the word and everyone answered to it coming up through middle and high school. I myself grew up using and hearing the word dude at a very young age. It seems like it just comes naturally to use the term these days. The word has spread throughout the United States very rapidly since it came about, so most people know what you are saying when you use the term. I was vacationing in Philadelphia this summer when I could not find a bathroom in the Philadelphia Phillies baseball stadium. I walked around until I found an employee of the park and said, “Dude, could you please tell me where the bathroom is.” I got a quick response from the worker and hurried to the restroom. The circle of friends that I mainly hung out with just substituted dude for everybody’s name. It made it a lot easier in talking to one another. “Dude, do you want to go to the baseball game with us?” The person the speaker is talking to would respond with, “Yeah, sure dude I would love to go.” The tone of the word in the way that I and my friends used it was very laid back and “chill” (relaxing, friendly, and easy-going). When I was riding my bike one day I fell and broke both of my arms. All I could say to my friend was “dude!” meaning, I think I messed myself up pretty bad and you need to go get some help. That was not a “chill” way of using the word; it was kind of a cry for help on my part. My friend, on the other hand, looked at me and all he could say was “dude”. But, the tone in which he was saying the word was plaintive, more like “Dude? dude….dude” almost as if he were asking what do I do? The word can also connect people or show that they are on the same level. I was at a concert one time when a stranger was standing on my toe. I said “dude” and while smiling at her, she apologized and then bought me a drink not too long after that.
Dude can also be taken negatively by some people depending on the quality and tone that are demanded. Older adults see the word and other words we use in our language as being inarticulate. Some people may have never heard of the word before and take it as being offensive. “Look at that dude man over there; he is not doing his job right.” Well I heard this when I was at work one day in the warehouse and the gentleman over heard the others conversation as I did. He turned around and said, “This dude man is doing more work than you, just sitting there running your mouth.” The situation never got too terribly serious but the worker said he would like to be called by his name instead of just some dude. “Dude, what the crap?” this can be taken negatively also just because of the demand or emphasis of the question. A man walks in the house with a gun. The occupants of the house are like “Dude!?” meaning, are you going to kill us with that gun? Many people that use the word often do not see the word at all being negative. There are very few times that I have experienced someone taking the term dude in an offensive or a wrong way.
The term dude is used all over the world and is seen as a universal pronoun. Dude has evolved in the English language from eighteen seventy-three to the present day as a pronoun and sometimes used as a verb. It is used to inform, ask questions, and has many other jobs. The word can be taken negatively or positively depending on the way the speaker is using the word. In my community we just used the word most of the time to refer to the person that we are talking to. On other occasions we used the word to answer questions as a one word answer. We also used the word when some person says something really stupid that there is nothing else to say but dude. I see the word dude becoming a common word in everybody’s vocabulary in the upcoming years. I also see that only the younger to mid-generation group use the word. Our generation in our time is bringing the word back. The question still comes about “Why do people use the word?” It is not in the dictionary and is said to be improper English by many people. If so many people around the country use the word and it has evolved into the English language, why can we not use the word in proper English? Even though it is not proper English many people accept the word and the person that is speaking the word. For me, it just comes natural. Everybody from my community sounds like they are from California, very laid-back. It seems like a Bob Marley style.

Hokie Footall

‘"Coming off of last week and people asking, 'Could we get back up?' 'How much is that going to hurt us?' 'Mentally, what did it do to us?'" Coach Frank Beamer said. "I thought our kids and coaches went out there and gave them a response today,” said Beamer after the win over Marshall.
This was a must win football game said by many fans for the Hokies this weekend. Hokies came back strong to defeat the number 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers Saturday evening. Tyrod Taylor would come through in a very exciting fourth quarter as the game ended 16-15. Our Hokie quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, found Danny Coale running along the sideline all alone and wide open in the 80-yard completion. Coale said. "I just kept running as fast as I could and I looked up and saw the ball heading right into my hands." This completion in the fourth quarter gave the Hokies great field position. Three plays later Tyrod Taylor found another receiver, Dyrell Roberts, in the endzone to result in a touchdown which rescued the Hokies for the win Saturday. The Cornhuskers fell to 1-21 in the last 22 games against teams in the top twenty in the nation. Virginia Tech continued its string of 32 non conference home game wins.
This was a great win for the Virginia Tech Hokies who had struggled all day against the Nebraska defense. Virginia Tech was down by five points to Nebraska. An offense that had mustered only two first downs and 55 yards in the second half was stuck on its own 12-yard line. There appeared to be little shot of victory. "Once I saw that he was open, I just had to let it go," said Taylor, who was hit just after he released the ball in the eighty yard completion to Danny Coale. This got the Hokies on the three yard line with about one minute left on the clock in the fourth quarter. After being sacked on the first play from the 3 three yard line for an eight yard loss and then rushed into throwing the ball away, Tyrod scrambled for what some say seemed to be an eternity before rifling the ball to Roberts on the right side of the end zone with 21 seconds left.
The Miami Hurricanes are going to be rolling into Blacksburg on the twenty-sixth as the Hokies next opponent. The Hokies are 9-17 against the Hurricanes from nineteen fifty-three to two-thousand eight. Five of the wins came at Lane Stadium, which has a tendency to do that to teams. Lane Stadium is one of the loudest in the nation. The Virginia Tech football team has enjoyed well over a decade of success, going to 16 straight bowl games. A big part of that success is the home-field advantage the Hokies enjoy at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field.

Health Care

Health care in America is starting to take a turn. Is it a turn for the good or the bad many people ask? President Obama is looking to address the issue on health care reform on the date of September 9. This is only the president’s second speech since he has been in office about the much debated issue. It seems like mister president is hiding from many of the issues he has addressed. Obama has approached many principles of what he would like in health care reform, but plans on leaving most of the details to the Congress. "The president is clearly not running away from this battle but rather confronting the challenges we have encountered these last few weeks head on," Democratic Sen. Charles Rangel of New York said in a statement Wednesday night. "He is pulling out all the stops, and this level of involvement from the president could well be a game changer. There is no better way to turn public opinion around than to have someone as popular as President Obama addressing the American people directly, without anyone interpreting (or misinterpreting ) his ideas." The debate of the upcoming issue has changed; therefore, creating an opportunity for the president to step and do something, finally! Obama has to figure out a way to come about a new vision on health care reform. "We're entering a new season," senior adviser David Axelrod said. "It's time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done." Another administration official said, “Now is the time to begin to pull together the various strands and solutions from the four bills that have been marked up and other proposals. ... Basically, all the cards are on the table." If it does not get engaged now it may turn into a catastrophe. Don’t you think the issue should have been addressed a long time before we dug ourselves into a huge hole? Obama is finally doing what he said he was going to do when he ran for president and put it off no longer. Now is a great time for the president to step in and take control. Health care is out of control and many are not able to afford their medical expenses. "Today's call was a productive one. We addressed a number of issues at hand and the next steps moving forward. Health reform is certainly a significant challenge, and each time we talk, we are reminded just how many areas of agreement exist," said Democrat Baucus from Montana. "We agree we need to take control of health care costs and make health insurance affordable for families and small businesses." Obama and Democratic leaders argue that a public option would ensure that coverage is available to all Americans while forcing private insurers to lower costs through the competition. As Republicans observe the issue they say that the democrats are misleading us into believing public option will help. The Republicans say this will just lead us into complete governmental control of health care reform just as the stimulus packages did with the bailouts of the automakers and banks. That would be the last thing that needs to happen, but where is the bill? Where are all the things Obama promised or guaranteed us during his campaign? Our government is turning into a dictatorship with the government beginning to control everything. Is this not supposed to be a free country? Obama has a lot of making up to do. Power should be in the hands of the people and it is far from it. "The health care debate is beginning to sound more and more like the politics President Obama addressed in his campaign (partisan, mean, and progress-free). It should not be that way," wrote former Sen. Bill Bradley, D-New Jersey, in an op-ed in the New York Times on Saturday. "Because I believe such a grand bipartisan compromise is still possible with health care." If the democrats decide to push the partisan bill they might have the advantage over the Republican Party even though the Republican Party is steadily rising back to the top. “Getting some Republicans to sign onto a proposal would improve Obama's chances of gaining the support of key moderate Democratic senators such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. All three are skeptical of a government-run public option supported by their more liberal fellow Democrats,” says CNN. Health care has become a major priority for our government to figure out. As the next couple of months, weeks go by we are hopefully going to see some major changes. This is a serious topic being debated on and many people are out there suffering because of health care. Obama needs to step up on his little pedestal and finally take control and do something about the millions suffering from health care. Other countries have hospitals you just walk in and be treated at no cost. The government runs and pays for the hospitals. This would be a solution that I would consider in the debate and be looked at hard. But, we all know that is far from happening!

Ana Vicinanzo

Not many people get the opportunity to travel among the states of the U.S. Ana Vicinanzo, and eighteen year old freshman at Virginia tech, got that opportunity to do so while her dad was in the military. Her mom, who is from Spain, is full Spanish. She spent ten years of her life and her childhood growing up in Brooklyn; however, she was born in upstate New York in a city called Amsterdam. She spent a lot of her time playing with the kids on the block. They would all get together and play flashlight tag or maybe some basketball. Most of the time they just shot the breeze; however, sometimes got exceptionally crazy. Two fish took up some of her time as she had those as pets when she was younger. “It was different than Virginia to say the least”, says Ana, “there were many more kids on the block, and the school I attended was up four flights of stairs with no air conditioning.” In Brooklyn it gets very hot during the summer and is also much louder than Virginia. Her family, including two brothers that are seventeen and twelve, moved from Brooklyn to Herndon when she was ten because of her dad’s job. This is where she attended middle school and high school. The graduating class was about five-hundred students, so it was a pretty big school. She also attended a Spanish school where she has a diploma for all of Spain’s schools.

During high school Ana ran track. On the track field Ana was a fierce competitor and would do anything to win. Her sophomore year she hairline fractured her ankle while running hurdles and her dream was shot. But, while running track a very solid friendship was built. “Ana is a wonderful, genuine person who cares greatly about her friends and is dedicated to the things she undertakes,” says her best friend Emily who she met while running track. Emily also described her as diligent, attentive, and compassionate. “She can be shy at first but you will know when she breaks out of her shell,” says Emily. They spend a lot of time together working out in the gym and just hanging out. “We click on so many different levels and see everything almost eye to eye,” said Emily. Ana also worked as an employee at a Starbucks in Sterling Virginia for two years, where she says she will never work again. She had to quit her job to come to Virginia Tech, as many people have to do when they leave for the long journey to college. When asked why Virginia Tech, her response was, “I felt like it was the right place for me to be and I could see myself going there.” Many college students do not know what they are going to do with their life, or have planned it out. “A family, nice paying job, and a college degree of some sort would be great,” says Ana. That is most people’s dream plan when they are in college. She is also thinking about going into the psychology field and possibly pursuing a career when she gets out of college. During her spare time Ana enjoys doing artwork, listening to music, take pictures, and talking to her friends on facebook to keep in touch. She is very passionate about her drawings and picture taking skills and takes them very serious when she is at work with them.

Taking a trip to Spain every year would be mighty nice! The Vicinanzo family, which is spread out among the United States and Spain, takes a trip to Spain to see their Spanish part of the family every summer for a month. “My dad is one of seven so I have thirty two cousins on that side, and my mom is one of two so I have two cousins on that side, and I have a god child whose going to be five,” Ana said. “We only see each other once a year,” says Ana,” so it gets pretty intense.” There they enjoy every day on the sunny, beautiful Spanish beaches where they soak up the sun and enjoy their family time. La Manga is the beach they that the family enjoys and it is on the Mediterranean Sea. She also enjoys eating at the Spanish restaurants with her family where they catch up with each other in some very long conversations. She also loves to try the new dishes every year. Ana can speak very fluent Spanish but prefers to speak English. During her younger years of her life Ana was dyslexic and had to get help. She sees this as embarrassing but many people struggle with the diagnosis and try to hide it. She struggled until she was about three years old until she got the hang of reading. It looks like she did a good job at overcoming this as we see that she made it to Virginia Tech. This is a great accomplishment according to her and many other people. Getting into Virginia Tech was also at the top of Ana’s great accomplishment list. Ana now sees many doors open up for her in the near future even though she does not know what she wants to do.

It sounds like Ana has had a very adventurous life. Not too adventurous though because she is afraid of most animals. She is dedicated to every single thing she does. She wants a family but says kids are a drain right now and would also like to live near or close by a city when she gets a little older. Ana is a very ambitious, dedicated girl and has a long life ahead of her. There are many opportunities that are going to come to Ana in the future and she has the will-power to succeed. Her main goal now is to remain in good standing with all of her curriculum and soon pursue her goals when they become clear to her.