A Micro Compact Home

This box-like figure is to my surprise, a home. It is 76 square feet designed by the Technical University of Munich in Germany. This home costs $96,000 and is complete with a flat screen TV and a dining room table that seats five people. It includes a fire alarm, smoke detectors, sliding dining room table, two 7.5 feet double beds, shelves and doors, a control panel, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The kitchen includes a sink with an extending tap, microwave, refrigerator and freezer, three slot garbage, storage, and shelves. How does such a small space include all the essentials of a home? I have no idea, but they made it work. This home is made for temporary stay and includes delivery and installment anywhere in Europe. This past summer, a model of this home was placed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Shopaholics

Is there such a thing as a shopaholic? Is it just someone who shops excessively or does it go beyond that? I believe that everyone has a little bit of a shopaholic in them. Everybody likes to have nice things right? However, when your shopping addiction results in bankruptcy, it becomes a problem. Not only are you completely broke, but many shopaholics begin to shoplift. Their addiction becomes so uncontrollable that many wind up in jail because of it. What are some of the things that can lead to this type of shopping addiction? It can be self-esteem issues, insecurity, or a simple act of constant boredom. When it comes to a true shopaholic they do not simply just go to the mall and buy a shirt or two. Once they buy something it becomes a compulsive thing to do. This can be a very dangerous. Although women are stereotyped as being shopaholics, the addiction goes for men also. There is counceling for shopoholics which helps people spend their money properly without going overboard.

The Lost City of Stone

Petra is located in Jordan, to the northwest of Saudi Arabia. The word Petra in Greek means “rock” or “stone” which is a great name for this city considering the entire city is made from the rock that were located there. The people who carved these beautiful sculptures were called the Nabataeans. These people began to settle in Petra around the late seventh century. The rocks in Petra have a variety of hard and soft layers which gave the Nabataeans the ability to build their city of stone. They used the harder layers to build steady ceilings and the soft layers to carve open spaces. Many statues of Gods, Goddesses, and other figures still exist, along with many other architectural monuments.

Petra was unknown to the western world until the year of 1812. If this city was “lost” for so long, what other cities have yet to be discovered?

Wasp Knife

Did you ever hear of a wasp knife?
This is a new invention that is intentionally made to kill bears and sharks. It is unlike any knife you have ever seen before. This particular knife has a trigger button and once it is pressed it release a ball of gas which shoots out of the tip of the knife. Once released the small ball of gas grows instantly into approximately the size of a basketball which suddenly freezes the internal organs of the victim.
Watch this video and see what this knife is capable of doing to something as simple as a watermelon:



Britain is currently worried about this new invention. They are afraid that this deadly weapon will reach the hands of the wrong person. Should such a deadly weapon be available to the public? In my opinion I do not think so, but it is currently available to hunters and divers, and easily can be obtained over the internet. Someone made a comment stating, “Wow A knife that I am more afraid of than a gun!” Will this new invention become a serious problem? Is Britain right to be afraid, will this reach the hands of the wrong person?

Lunar Halo

What is a lunar halo? Last night I seen something I have never seen before. Around the moon there was a large circle that was perfect in diameter. I have never seen this before in my life. When I had looked it up online I found out that it is called a lunar halo. Ice crystals in a hexagon shape refract light from the moon causing these rings to appear. Many people say that the lunar halo means that bad weather is to come, but it has not yet been proven. This has happened many times before, but this is my first time seeing it. I found this very interesting because it looked like a shadow of something, directly in the middle of the sky circling the moon. When I found out what this was, I wondered why this only happens once in a while. Does this mean something that we do not know of yet?

Will the Earth Rebel Against us?

Yesterday I watched the movie “The Happening.” Although I thought that the movie wasn’t that good, the plot made me wonder. This movie was about a wind that suddenly passes through and takes over people’s minds where it makes them kill themselves. No one knew what this was or why it was happening, but the main character had a general idea. He figured that because we were hurting the world by using power plants and so forth, the world was rebelling against us.
Will the Earth rebel against us in real life? Don’t get me wrong, I do not think that a wind is going to come along and everybody is going to kill themselves, but will global warming get to the point where we may severely suffer? If people do not change their ways of life, what will happen in years from now? Is global warming the Earths way of rebelling agaisnt us? Watching this movie made me think about the effects of pollution and what may happen if we do not do anything about it.
If you are worried about what may happen if we do not prevent global warming, the website below lists a variety of things that may help:
http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_actionitems.asp

The Curse of the Lottery

Is it true that the lottery is a curse? The other day I watched a documentary on people who had won the lottery. They had shown a film of many people and of their lives before winning the lottery, while they gained wealth, and afterwards. Shortly after these people had won millions of dollars, they all went bankrupt and their lives fell apart. One couple lived in a trailer. They won this money and thought that it was going to be the greatest thing in their lives. They went out and bought a mansion, beautiful cars, a jet, and plenty more unnecessary things. Not to mention they quit their jobs. Before you knew it they ran out of money and were unable to pay their bills, claiming bankruptcy. Although this couple lived in a trailer before winning the lottery, they were content with their lives. Now with all of this chaos, they are two people with more problems than ever.

Another story, that is truly heartbreaking, is a story of a man who won hundreds of millions of dollars and lost it all due to drug abuse and alcohol. Not only did he lose the millions, but he also lost his granddaughter to drugs and his marriage broke up. When he first won the money, he thought that all his financial problems were gone and he can finally relax and provide his family and himself with whatever they desire. What he didn’t know is that it was about to become the worst years of his life. After claiming bankruptcy, he admits that he would rather be poor and have his family in good health than to have millions of dollars.

The following is a link to an article with stories of people who were cursed by the lottery.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/70165/winning_the_lottery_curse_or_a_blessing.html?page=2&cat=47