I always figured that if a parent wanted to send their kids to school with lunch, it was their right since they are responsible for the child’s livelihood. It’s just common sense to pack your food and bring it to school/work if you can’t afford to eat out all the time.
So, it’ll eat me alive if I don’t ask, but… what the hell are our leaders thinking? Banning homemade lunches to help with nutrition issues is something I don’t understand. Let’s forget the fact this is one of the last things they should be worrying about. This issue, if you will, is nothing more than a mystery for fiction writers. When I say that, I mean that the article posted below can only be read as fiction because of how ridiculous it is. And if you read it as fiction, you deserve a medal for reading it completely without suffering an aneurism.
They’re trying to protect students from their own unhealthy eating habits if they were to bring lunch from home versus eating a school lunch. And I thought I was being idiotic. How can you protect someone from unhealthy eating habits if you don’t live with them and are not their primary caregiver? How can you protect someone from unhealthy eating habits… period? We pump our foods with enough chemicals that if concentrated, they could be used to kill prisoners on death row.
But I digress; restricting homemade lunches seems a bit excessive if you consider the fact that every human vessel is different. We’re like whiskers on lions; no pair of whisker patterns is alike. Trying to create general health guidelines is impossible because there are no set guidelines we can follow. If there is anything I took away from watching ER, one extra aspirin tablet might be the difference between relieving a headache and passing a bloody stool. And if that’s the case, please call your doctor immediately for medical advice about the side effects.
We can’t predict the healthiest course of action for our kids anyway because no kid (who is adept at eating mom’s peanut butter and jelly with the crust cut off) will go for it. The only way administrators can get this ‘only in school’ initiative to pass is if they have a gigantic buffet. In undergrad, I couldn’t get enough of the cafeteria because they had everything: stir fry, pizza, stuffing, salad, kosher, burgers, and eight flavors of ice cream to take the edge off.
If students had a buffet line waiting for them at lunch period, I don’t think parents would have such a problem with the Brown Bag Ban of 2011 (I dubbed that myself). If not, there is no reason to restrict students from bringing lunch from home. I guarantee that no one is going to agree with the reasoning behind it since schools are already serving unhealthy solutions to the problem. I’m not sure if they still have them, but along with pizza and hamburgers, my high school had a separate counter for big chocolate chip cookies, candy bars, and funnel cake… FUNNEL CAKE! And let’s not forget the extra vending machines that also served candy bars and Snapple. The only way I could possibly make it worse is by saying that they occasionally served brownies with globs of chocolate frosting. Sometimes they had macadamia nuts in them with no warning label… because if you’re trying to control what kids eat, don’t forget to ignore the ones with severe nut allergies.
After learning that, there is no way you can tell me that the diets of our children can be entrusted to any school administration. Keep in mind that I’m not a spokesperson for being fit and eating healthy, but it seems to be something we can wait on in the United States, especially in New Jersey. I just went to a Board of Education meeting where they voted on who received raises and who get fired. It wasn’t pretty, but can we divert our attention to hiring more teachers instead of this? Figuring out a healthy diet for students should be a job for parents. And in The Book of Things We Need to Worry About, banning homemade lunches is on page 137 after “Which Jersey Shore Cast Member Gets Paid The Most”?
Check out the article here:
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Politics/Politics/lunches_from_home_banned_in_public_school_0411110350.html
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Young Guns: Perfect Day to Day 5
In his office, Norman typed furiously behind his desk. Standing, he was too anxious to sit as he brought up documents and deleted them. There was only one thing left to do, but it would have to be quick. He didn’t have much time left.
Opening the video recording program on the desktop computer, he ripped the portable camera out of the top desk drawer and plugged it in. Norman took in a deep breath and pressed ‘Record’
He spoke low and fast, leaving no detail left unsaid. The man stared at the camera a moment and let his heart bleed, “I thought I had more time… time to show you everything my father didn’t have time to show me.”
“I guess I haven’t been the best dad, but I tried to teach you right from wrong. And I tried to give you a life without worry, but my past has caught up with me. This encrypted information is yours to keep or destroy. I leave the choice to you.”
Then, a crash came from the room beyond his office. His time was up. Looking back to the screen, Norman said one last thing, then pressed ‘Send’. The message was away, and there was a loud crack as the door to his office caved inward.
Norman lifted his leg to the desk and pushed, but not with his strength. He learned to use it as the other did, but like the other powers, kept it hidden. The desk flew toward the individual at the door, but the effort was quickly impeded. Chunks of mahogany scattered across the floor as the large piece of furniture was smashed.
Before Norman knew it, the figure was standing less than a foot away gripping his neck tightly. Flung across the room, shattering the dry wall and sending him into the adjacent office. He tried to suck in a breath, but could only take in short gasps. His body ached as he lay there; too stunned to make the attempt to stand.
He felt large fingers grip his neck, and he was lifted; his feet scrapped along the floor as he struggled. Norman looked down to the figure amidst his choking. Despite his situation, he had succeeded as a smile curled across his cracked lips, “You won’t beat him.”
With that, Norman felt the grip around his neck tighten as his body was flung. He impacted the window, crashing through it. The pavement laid sixteen stories below, but it came closer and closer as his body descended. With his final breaths, Norman saw the stars and the moon; constellations dance along the night sky in their beautiful formations as an eternal black washed over him.
Opening the video recording program on the desktop computer, he ripped the portable camera out of the top desk drawer and plugged it in. Norman took in a deep breath and pressed ‘Record’
He spoke low and fast, leaving no detail left unsaid. The man stared at the camera a moment and let his heart bleed, “I thought I had more time… time to show you everything my father didn’t have time to show me.”
“I guess I haven’t been the best dad, but I tried to teach you right from wrong. And I tried to give you a life without worry, but my past has caught up with me. This encrypted information is yours to keep or destroy. I leave the choice to you.”
Then, a crash came from the room beyond his office. His time was up. Looking back to the screen, Norman said one last thing, then pressed ‘Send’. The message was away, and there was a loud crack as the door to his office caved inward.
Norman lifted his leg to the desk and pushed, but not with his strength. He learned to use it as the other did, but like the other powers, kept it hidden. The desk flew toward the individual at the door, but the effort was quickly impeded. Chunks of mahogany scattered across the floor as the large piece of furniture was smashed.
Before Norman knew it, the figure was standing less than a foot away gripping his neck tightly. Flung across the room, shattering the dry wall and sending him into the adjacent office. He tried to suck in a breath, but could only take in short gasps. His body ached as he lay there; too stunned to make the attempt to stand.
He felt large fingers grip his neck, and he was lifted; his feet scrapped along the floor as he struggled. Norman looked down to the figure amidst his choking. Despite his situation, he had succeeded as a smile curled across his cracked lips, “You won’t beat him.”
With that, Norman felt the grip around his neck tighten as his body was flung. He impacted the window, crashing through it. The pavement laid sixteen stories below, but it came closer and closer as his body descended. With his final breaths, Norman saw the stars and the moon; constellations dance along the night sky in their beautiful formations as an eternal black washed over him.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Borderlands Review
Borderlands was released on October 20, 2009 by 2K Games and Gearbox Software. The game is a first person shooter RPG and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.
It has been described as the first attempt at a First Person Shooter Role Playing Game, which is a very successful attempt. You play as one of four character types; the Hunter, Siren, Berserker and Soldier. Who you choose will ultimately affect your special techniques, but that’s it. It doesn’t matter how you kill and destroy as long as you kill and destroy- and there’s a lot to be done.
The story plops you down in the middle of a dangerous, backwater planet know as Pandora. A world of scavengers, deformed psychos and monster rejects from the movie The Relic give the player plenty of foes to contest with. And there are more than enough baddies to keep you busy throughout as you complete over 100 quests in search of the Vault. The legendary Vault is said to contain many treasures and ancient artifacts, and it’s up to you to find it. A mysterious woman guides you on your treasure-hunting journey, contacting you before and after important events that shape the tale.
Unlike Fallout, there is no morality system. This means that every decision you make isn’t judged and used to shape the story and how you play the game. When you shoot that mutated midget who comes out of nowhere, it doesn’t affect the game. Borderlands is strictly a shoot and loot game with, again, a lot of baddies. Depending on the type of character you choose in the beginning, firefights could turn out differently with each specialty.
The graphics in Borderlands are quite appealing to say the least. Everything has a cartoon-y outline to it that makes the environments and characters pop with life. The characters look as though they belong in the world you’re traversing, and they sound like backwoods hillbillies, which also makes them fit. The game has a plethora of weapons to use and upgrade with individual designs and a unique feel to each of them. The developers definitely took the time to polish these features and focus on the details of this title. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the detail of the environments wouldn’t load right away after a loading screen. This was something I noticed early on, as well as throughout much of my playthrough, but it wasn’t something that hindered my game play.
The controls left me feeling in control and everything was quick and responsive according to my playing style. I found myself able to reload and switch weapons sufficiently in the middle of huge gun battles, and I loved the customization mid-battle. Driving the vehicles is what threw me off since they were too quick for me to actually get a handle. The driving mechanics are reminiscent of Halo, but way too loose for my kind of playing. Again, it wasn’t too much of a hindering factor, as everything else seemed to exceed my expectations.
One aspect of the Borderlands that multiplies the fun tremendously is the ability to gather three of your friends and play the story together. It really shows how much fun you can have when playing with others because it ups the ante on the level of enemies and just how many there are.
For example, one of my friends is a level 14 Hunter, so all of the enemies we faced were leveled accordingly. This helped me level up and use certain weapons and equipment I wouldn’t have been able to use so early on in single player. When looting enemies and crates, it is important to communicate and share weapons, ammunition, and even money if you’re looking to upgrade your weapons or buy health packs. Although, you can choose to ration the supplies between your teammates, or horde everything for yourself. The decision is up to you as your group fights through Sledge’s Safehouse. ;-)
The bottom line is that Borderlands is extremely addicting and had me up until the wee hours of the morning saying, “Okay, one more mission.” Then, the sun rose six missions later and I had no idea where my night went. The replay value is quite high, and the endless customization, missions and enemies will keep you coming back for more. I highly recommend adding this title to your collection. Borderlands gets a 8 out of 10!
Still writing, still believing…
-V
It has been described as the first attempt at a First Person Shooter Role Playing Game, which is a very successful attempt. You play as one of four character types; the Hunter, Siren, Berserker and Soldier. Who you choose will ultimately affect your special techniques, but that’s it. It doesn’t matter how you kill and destroy as long as you kill and destroy- and there’s a lot to be done.
The story plops you down in the middle of a dangerous, backwater planet know as Pandora. A world of scavengers, deformed psychos and monster rejects from the movie The Relic give the player plenty of foes to contest with. And there are more than enough baddies to keep you busy throughout as you complete over 100 quests in search of the Vault. The legendary Vault is said to contain many treasures and ancient artifacts, and it’s up to you to find it. A mysterious woman guides you on your treasure-hunting journey, contacting you before and after important events that shape the tale.
Unlike Fallout, there is no morality system. This means that every decision you make isn’t judged and used to shape the story and how you play the game. When you shoot that mutated midget who comes out of nowhere, it doesn’t affect the game. Borderlands is strictly a shoot and loot game with, again, a lot of baddies. Depending on the type of character you choose in the beginning, firefights could turn out differently with each specialty.
The graphics in Borderlands are quite appealing to say the least. Everything has a cartoon-y outline to it that makes the environments and characters pop with life. The characters look as though they belong in the world you’re traversing, and they sound like backwoods hillbillies, which also makes them fit. The game has a plethora of weapons to use and upgrade with individual designs and a unique feel to each of them. The developers definitely took the time to polish these features and focus on the details of this title. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the detail of the environments wouldn’t load right away after a loading screen. This was something I noticed early on, as well as throughout much of my playthrough, but it wasn’t something that hindered my game play.
The controls left me feeling in control and everything was quick and responsive according to my playing style. I found myself able to reload and switch weapons sufficiently in the middle of huge gun battles, and I loved the customization mid-battle. Driving the vehicles is what threw me off since they were too quick for me to actually get a handle. The driving mechanics are reminiscent of Halo, but way too loose for my kind of playing. Again, it wasn’t too much of a hindering factor, as everything else seemed to exceed my expectations.
One aspect of the Borderlands that multiplies the fun tremendously is the ability to gather three of your friends and play the story together. It really shows how much fun you can have when playing with others because it ups the ante on the level of enemies and just how many there are.
For example, one of my friends is a level 14 Hunter, so all of the enemies we faced were leveled accordingly. This helped me level up and use certain weapons and equipment I wouldn’t have been able to use so early on in single player. When looting enemies and crates, it is important to communicate and share weapons, ammunition, and even money if you’re looking to upgrade your weapons or buy health packs. Although, you can choose to ration the supplies between your teammates, or horde everything for yourself. The decision is up to you as your group fights through Sledge’s Safehouse. ;-)
The bottom line is that Borderlands is extremely addicting and had me up until the wee hours of the morning saying, “Okay, one more mission.” Then, the sun rose six missions later and I had no idea where my night went. The replay value is quite high, and the endless customization, missions and enemies will keep you coming back for more. I highly recommend adding this title to your collection. Borderlands gets a 8 out of 10!
Still writing, still believing…
-V
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