Nick’s Blog

Botnets:

The network of computers that are ‘infected’ with self-controlled bots that are waiting for command from the owner of the network. These networks can be bought or created. Buying BotNets is illegal and considered a crime.

I think BotNets is useful but dangerous as well. It can be used by companies to advertise themselves, sending emails at a reasonable rate. With that kind of advertising, it will be very easy to get users to take a peek at their site. But because of reasons like that, spammers can use BotNets to fake advertisements and make people lose their private information.

BotNets can also be used to clog a website full of viewers. It is called DDoS, Distributed Denial of Service. It uses the Bots it have to access a certain website. Using this method, it can make the website go down because of too much people using it at the same time. This have no good use to it and probably only created by hackers so they can mess with people and blackmail companies.

In short, BotNets’ illegal and it should stay that way.

Using XtraNormal, I can make a post of mine ‘goes to life’. By making it look like 2 people are discussing about it, it makes the post seems much more interesting. Normal posts I make I can only write down a paragraph. While using XtraNormal, I can make a young man talking to a ninja about it. So I think this method is a great way to present my informations on the MDG, here’s an example:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtvv-ExsMk[/youtube]

I am using a program called XtraNormal to make the video below. It is a very simple program in which all you have to do is give your character voice to talk and scripts to say. You can pick a background you want from what they give you, and there are actions where your characters can use also. With these features, you can easily create an interesting video that you want. Not only it is good, you can choose to buy the Premium account, where you could use even better features where it gives better quality, better colors for the videos, and more characters. more than 1 character in a video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSCOUIlnH4E[/youtube]

During Geography, we had a debate based between two groups: against or for drilling more oil. I think the debate really was a success, except for the fact that some people are just too competitive. These few people argues too much, even though they are bringing more topics in for debating, but they are also making the rest of the group less talkative. Because of that, only their opinion are spread and that few others’ were actually spoken. The silent debate was a little bit better because everyone could talk, but there were those who wrote too much and disrupted everyone else. Someone was even Rick Roll’d during the debate.

So in the end, I think the silent debate was better. I’d rather be Rick Roll’d than not being able to speak my mind and share my thoughts.

After the debate, I still stick with my thoughts before. We should reduce the amount of oil drilling right now, not that I’m saying we should stop. But we should slowly change to another source of energy where it is abundant or renewable or maybe even unlimited. Thermal energy, wind power, water currents, etc… If we change to use these resources, it will lessens the effects on the ozone layer unlike oil, and we will have much more to use so no more conflicts would be started over some oil mines.

Last class, we watched a video about how people could easily gain access to a BotNet. Using these BotNets, the owner can easily control a huge network of computers and use them to apply spam to others. This was probably how spam was made. The fact that you can ‘buy’ a BotNet easily means that anyone can be a spammer and any computer could have been controlled. The fact that any computer could be controlled currently and that we don’t know it is scaring me and makes me worries for my own computer as well. If access to BotNet is so easy, shouldn’t eliminating it easy as well? Are there any way to prevent your own computer from being a ‘Bot’?

Because of reactions from what others think is the ‘perfect body’, or the image the medias put on the minds of other, teenagers usually tries to achieve the image at any cost. Sometimes they uses anorexia and bulimia to reduce their weight. By using these methods, they ruin their health, and risk dying. Bulimia gives you stomach problems and the acid from the vomit ruins your throat. Most of the images on the media aren’t even possible to achieve or only achievable by certain people with the right gene. The ‘hot’ image is probably varied based on the thoughts of some people, no two people have the same ideas as each other. My personal opinion on this is that the perfect body image is different for everyone and that you should only achieve a body that is fit and healthy for you, trying to achieve an impossible goal is not healthy or reasonable at all.

What is the perfect body image?

Sites used:

There are many countries in the world where most of their population don’t even receive a primary education, 1st to 5th grade. To us, these grades seem unimportant, but to them it’s almost like a way to salvation. In order for them to receive these necessary schooling, countries must do something about it. Most of the aid are either given to unnecessary areas, or are simply consumed by corrupted leaders. These aid should have been enforced to be used specifically in education so that these leaders can’t leech off of the money, or will it be spent on useless area. And also, renovations for schools and to pay the teachers should also be more important than food aid. Food’s important, but ‘give a man a fish, it’ll feed him for  a day’ isn’t enough, we need to ‘teach him to fish, and you’ll feed him for the rest of his life’. We need to teach these people at least enough so they can start to profit themselves instead of having to live a poor life until their death.

A picture of an informal class, because of environments like these, even if they try their best, they won’t be able to receive the best education they need.

Minimal quality of classes like these are at least needed so that these students can get the best they can from their education.

I personally think that poor people aren’t much good for us. If we give them education, they might use it to turn against the helpers, or sometimes they wouldn’t even study at all. There are a minority of the poor people who are struggling to achieve a higher, better life through education and that they are the ones that I admire, but what about the rest of the poor people? Murderers sometimes kills just for money, they never bother to get an education, did they? Most of the poor countries who receive aid don’t really use it wisely. The government would put the money in their own pocket and not spend it on their people at all, and because of these inferiors who kept on exacerbate the situation, the aids is now tied and/or only focused on one area, which only benefits the donor country. Because of people like this, it have led others like myself into thinking that all poor people are the same: foolish, useless, and greedy. But after some news articles I found, I realize that not all poor people are bad: a girl whose father died and mother’s a vegetable, is struggling to work and study at the same time and she is still an excellent student; in another case, a young boy whose father’s a drunk, abusing foolish man, and whose mother a gambler with the worst luck, is forcing her to work, and bring them back money to waste and spend uselessly. Parents like those should have deserve a death sentence, and children like those should have received the best education. Being mistreated like that, and yet they are still trying to survive. To me, there are two types of poor people: the ones who gets the worst treatment and put into work camp to work as labors for the rest of their lives due to their laziness to study and work, and the ones who should be nurtured properly, educated, and loved by society because they are the ones who actually put efforts into their studies. The latter’s the kinda of poor people we should care for, because they are probably our future, because of their determination to be better, they will even be better than us at success and we are the ones who will give them their chances now for a better future.

A poor woman who lives in a lowly slum, who probably never had proper education.

With proper care and education, a person will be able to think for himself and are able to make a profit.

How to have a better picture taken:

Simplicity:

Focus on one subject makes the subject stand out, simpler and better.

This picture’s focus is the AC machine and it’s simple because it’s the only thing there.

The Rule of Thirds:

Divide the picture into 9 parts evenly, 3 x3. By putting the subject in the right place of the 9 divided sections. If put correctly, the picture will also include the subject and background which makes it stand out.

This picture represents the rule of third because it is the top right square of the 9 squares.

Lines:

Including lines in the picture will make it look better. We don’t exactly put the lines on literally, but instead look for shapes that resembles a line, usually it looks nicer with a pattern.

This represents line because it is the many lines on the floor that repeats.

Balance:

Putting figures in a certain order or shape in a picture is much better looking than normal.

This represents balance because we’re sitting on both sides, balancing out the picture.

Frame:

Putting the foreground of the subject allows it to look like it was framed make it look better.

The door’s the frame for the focus on the back, which is another door…

Avoiding Mergers:

In a picture, it is better if we don’t let the background merge with the color of the subject.

This is what you should avoid because it would look like a tree’s growing out of my head.

Professional:

To be able to have every grades on B- at least, this have a high chance of not succeeding due to my extreme laziness in studying.

Personal Goal:

To be able to fix my bike by the end of the year, i might never accomplish this since I think I have already ruined my bike.