Dog Eyes

As I sit here eating my lunch, Lucky is right beside me- mooching. I swear that dogs have this magic ability to make you feel ANY AND ALL GUILT just by looking at you with their big, melting eyes. They don't need to be able to talk; their eyes say everything: "Feed me or you'll be a horrible person.... just a SMALL piece of ham won't hurt.... OH SO YOU WON'T FEED ME?! FINE. I'm just going to slink away like I am VERY hurt and make you feel worse than you did to begin with."

It takes EVERYTHING to resist throwing my dog a piece of food. He gets this angelic "I never do ANYTHING wrong" look on his face and will nose my lap and drool slightly to catch my attention/ In the end, he usually gets a few scraps. Today, he got some ham and saltine crackers, which to him was apparently a feast because he left me alone after that... and promptly went to mooch from Grandma.

Has your pet ever done something funny/annoying like this? Let me know in the comments!

Maddie

New language, Computer coding and more GIMP!

I have been very busy today- Dad found new homeschooling websites for me to study on! First, Dad found a site called Duolingo- a site that teaches languages for free! I checked it out and set up my account, and I really enjoy it! I am currently taking French and can already say a couple of things. The exercises are simple and fun but still teach basic French. It has actually become my favorite school subject! You can try duolingo here: www.duolingo.com 

But Dad's creativity in teaching me didn't end here. He also found me a site called code academy to teach me- you guessed it, computer programming! At first, I flipped out because I thought that he was giving me the course that he himself had trouble with. However, I was wrong- code academy starts you off with the most BASIC encoding, and works you up slowly. Much like duolingo, it has simple exercises that educate you JUST enough to not annoy you. Try out codeacademy here: www.codeacademy.com 

And finally, on top of all that, I had another assignment due for my GIMP class. You had to edit a photo and add text into it. Here is what I came up with:

Well, that draws this post to a close....

Til' Tomorrow,
Maddie

CAKE PAN MADNESS

Last night at 9:00 pm, Dad was on facebook checking the online garage sales and saw a GREAT deal- $2 specialty cake pans! After PM'ing the lady saying he was interested, me and Dad were invited to come look at them- right away! Me and Dad went out... and returned with 15 new cake pans! Among them are Scooby-Doo, Strawberry Shortcake, Garfield, Dora, and my personal favorite, Winnie the Pooh.

When my sister saw the Scooby-Doo pan, she pretty much DEMANDED that I make brownies for her... so I will most likely be doing that later in the day or over the weekend. If I do, I will put up pictures of how they came out. The pan isn't a full cake, but 6 small molds that will make perfect sized mini-cakes! In any case, I am very excited to try out my new cake pans AND to share my creations with my readers.

Have any decorating requests? Leave 'em in the comments!!!
Maddie

More GIMP

This morning, I have been playing around with GIMP. I created 2 cool pictures, mainly using the tools "Invert" and "Layers". I also used the heal tool to fix up the backgrounds of the photos, and finally, I merged the layers together which makes a smaller file size.

Here are my creations:

I thought they came out pretty well- considering the starting photos. The photo on the left is actually just my sister sitting on a stool in my very, VERY messy room- I edited out my clutter and dresser, and turned the camera flash into a hairpiece. Here is the original photo:

If you don't already have GIMP on your computer, you should install it, as it is a LOT of fun. It is free, and so is the course offered on coursera. Tell me what you think in the comments, and also, leave me a few editing ideas to try!

Maddie

NJ --> NH

This weekend, my family and I went to NJ. One of my dad's cousins had died and we went for the funeral and wake. But this blog is not about being IN NJ oh no- this is about the CAR TRIP. Now the 6 hour car trip we take usually consists of these few things:

• An unhealthy intake of sugared foods
• Unusual family banter
• My sister poking and prodding me, and then falling asleep
• Unnecessary pit stops 
• And the dog whining constantly over NOTHING.

This trip was pretty uneventful, if you ignore the fact that the dog jumped over the seat into my lap mid-trip. I fortunately got him back in the trunk before my Dad got too upset. Also- I apologize for not blogging. I am trying to get back on track and back to a more normal schedule- I am going to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow and get my blog out early.

Well, that ends this post.

Maddie

Amusing Myself

After working on some of my math today, I found myself in need of a good laugh- and what better way than to look at funny amazon reviews?! For those of you who don't know, my dad runs an online amazon store (please see BuyBuyMomma) and sometimes when I browse, I read customer reviews. Some of them are funny, and I found an article on a website that had compiled a funny collection of the reviews.

Here is the link: http://www.geekosystem.com/funny-amazon-reviews/

I also make loom bracelets to keep myself occupied. I just yesterday figured out how to make them without one falling apart on me, and then made my sister one. The trick is to set up the loom right to begin with- if you don't do this, your whole process is done for. Here is my question for my readers: What do YOU do to keep yourself occupied? Let me know in the comments. Also, if ever you are bored, check out StumbleUpon- you just enter your interests and it will bring you to sites in that repertoire. www.stumbleupon.com

Maddie

GIMP Class

As I have mentioned before, I am taking a photoshop class from SUNY. It's going very well, and I actually edited a picture of my sister really well. I got a lot of compliments on it, and it wasn't even a hard edit. Here is the before and after picture:

I cropped, resized, and changed the color scale from RGB to Greyscale. I then edited out a few of my sister's blemishes and finally fixed one of her eyes using the heal tool.

GIMP is the free version of PhotoShop and gives practically the same effects. You can download your version here: www.gimp.org

Please try it out, and if you'd like, check out coursera. www.coursera.org

Maddie

Train Station

I am excited today, because me and my sister and grandma are picking my Dad up from the train station! Dad had business this week and has been away for 2 days, and I MISS HIM SO MUCH! So I am happy that today he is coming back.

 We have to pick him up after my karate class finishes at 7:30, and as a surprise, we are taking Lucky with us to meet Dad! Lucky has been missing Dad too- he has been very tired and hasn't been his usual self. In fact, the first day Dad was gone, I caught Lucky sleeping under Dad's desk.

I suppose that Lucky coming won't be a big surprise if Dad reads my blog while on the train, but whatever! Maybe he won't, which would be nice. I am going to end this post here.

Maddie

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe
What would I have done different? – By Madison Nef

I am going to write this paper as I read the book, so I get everything in. I am only into the 3^rd chapter of the book and I have already found a choice of Crusoe’s that I would have done differently. Instead of letting his fellow slave swim away from the boat alive and back to the captor, I would have killed him! Who knows how loyal that slave is! If he tells the master that would mean you’d be caught. I’d rather just kill the guy so I don’t worry about being followed.

I also wouldn’t have sold Xury to the Portugese captain, even if it meant no passage. I would have kept him to help me and continued to Brazil, just taking a longer time to get there. Without someone to talk to and/or help me, I’d go crazy! And selling a child in order for ONE TRIP is just cruel. In exchange for one ride you have just ruined a child’s life. However, Crusoe does not, and sells Xury to the captain. Once in Brazil, he starts a plantation and is soon successful- but this does not satisfy him for long. He gets excited about the thought of slave labor and it’s advantages and goes off on an expedition to Africa.

I would never have been interested in slave labor in the first place- but that would cut the story short. But this paper doesn’t have to go according to timeline I guess, so there is something I wouldn’t have done. As I said above, I think that slavery is wrong. So I wouldn’t have gone on the boat.

I agree with Crusoe’s choices once shipwrecked. I too would have collected as much as I could from the ship and built myself a makeshift house. However, I would have taken my supplies in a different order than Crusoe. I would have taken supplies for a tent and the guns/ammo first, then the food, and then extra. I would have taken only one extra outfit- because with the island being uninhabited, who is going to see me anyway? In fact, if I was alone and knew it, I would walk around naked all day- to heck with clothing, especially in the hot sun!

I also would not have built a tent. I would have built a small cabin, having found hammer and nails on the shipwreck. I would have taken as much wood as I could from the wreck and made a small cabin, that way I KNEW I wouldn’t be rained upon. Then I would have set up a smaller tent over to the side for extra goods. I agree with his building of a fence, but I would have made a gate for myself instead of the ladder- heaven forbid I got injured and couldn’t climb the ladder!

Crusoe soon finds out that there are goats inhabiting the island. He figures out a setup in which he can shoot them easily, and on his first shot kills a she goat. When he goes down to retrieve his food, he finds a young sheep standing by it’s deceased mother. It follows him right back to his home, where he tries to domesticate it. However, it will not eat and he eventually kills it.

Crusoe makes a calendar for himself made out of wood, marking the day he first arrived on the island and carving in the months and days as they passed by. Finding paper and ink in one of his unsearched chests, he begins a journal of his daily events, taking note of the things he is learning, such as candle making. I think that keeping a journal was a good idea. I would have explored the island, and tried to make a map for myself, being Crusoe had found some mapping books and compasses.

Crusoe was very resourceful- when he ran out of beeswax with which to make candles, he took some tallow off of the goats and baked it into clay. He then created a lamp for himself from this. He also dug himself a cellar in the back of his house using supplies found on the ship, which I think was a good idea- but I would have stored not my treasure, but my gun powder and things that would be bad to get wet.

Crusoe falls ill, however, and takes awhile to recover. I again state I would have chosen different things from the ship- such as ANY MEDICINAL ITEMS. Those items would have been on the first boat I took back to the island. Crusoe obviously had no medicine whatsoever, or would have tried to heal himself. However, I guess Crusoe staying ill was a good thing, because he had a religious experience, showing him how God had forgiven his past sins by granting him salvation and supplies on the island.

Crusoe made up for not taking any medicine with him, however, by making his own- tobacco steeped in rum. He was soon better. For food, Crusoe dried grapes into raisins, hunted turtle eggs and fowl, and of course, goat. He also explores the island a bit more, discovering a whole FIELD of grapes and building himself a small shelter there. In his journal he is very optimistic, describing himself as the “king” of the island.

I think that creating medicine was also very resourceful and smart. I also think that his way of finding food was good, and drying out the grapes for later was smart. However, I think that building a shelter near the grapes was pointless- why use up good material for THAT. Instead, I would have built an additional fenced in area for the goats (since Crusoe took some goats and domesticated them).

Crusoe explored the island further and discovered crops of barley, rice, and surprisingly, tobacco. He is able to care for the crops and reap them once they are grown. Crusoe also chops down a cedar tree and carves it into a canoe, with intentions to row around the island- but it is too heavy and cannot be moved. Defeated but not de-motivated, Crusoe builds a smaller boat and takes a trip around the island. However, it is one of his last as he is almost killed during a large current, and is washed ashore.

I think that the boat was a waste of time and energy JUST for rowing around the island. Heck, if I was stranded and could build a BOAT?! I would be off that island in no time! I would load up my boat and then try to get as far as I could. If I tried and did not succeed, then back to the island.

Crusoe lived happily in his house for years, hunting and farming. One day, however, things changed. Crusoe was walking along the beach and was shocked to come across a human footprint! At first he is very afraid, thinking that the devil is on the island to harm him, but soon calms down and thinks logically- the footprint likely belongs to one of the cannibals rumored to inhabit the nearby islands.

Crusoe goes directly back to his shelter, and hears gunshots in the night. The next day, Crusoe explores along the beach and is surprised to discover a new shipwreck on the beach- but by the time he arrives at it, nothing is left but human entrails… leading Crusoe to believe there was a cannibal feast. He is very frightened and builds himself another underground shelter for his goats and himself, and looks for ways to cook and eat underground.

I wouldn’t have even gone out after seeing that footprint! I would have survived off of my resources for at LEAST a week- to make sure that I was not the next victim of the cannibals. I think that building a second underground shelter was a wise move, especially for the animals. Well, maybe not for the animals now that I am thinking about it. They are cannibals, and would focus on attacking Crusoe, not the goats.

Crusoe thinks of shooting all the cannibals for the sins they have committed, but after re-thinking it realizes he has no right to do so- since the cannibals do not know that they are committing a sin. Crusoe’s chain of thought soon switches back to slavery- the same mess that got him shipwrecked to begin with. He dreams of taking the cannibals’ prisoners and rescuing them, and making them his slaves.

Slavery, slavery… why always slavery!? Couldn’t Crusoe want to make a friend, and not a slave, for once? I guess it was just the time period. I would have wanted to rescue the captives too… but not make them my slaves. I would have housed them for a bit and then sent them out to live on the island. Rescue enough captives and BOOM! Suddenly you have a colony.

Crusoe soon got his wish. The cannibals walked their captives out for execution. One was killed… and then one escaped, not wanting to be beheaded and eaten. He was pursued, but Crusoe shot down most of the cannibals and took the captive into his home. He named him Friday, being it was the day he had been saved and had arrived at Crusoe.

Friday knew no English, so Crusoe taught him how to speak English and also about God and the bible. Once he was able to talk, Friday told Crusoe of the cannibals- how they each had a colony, and that they would only eat their enemies. Crusoe taught Friday, housed him, and fed him. I think this was nice of Crusoe to teach Friday this- at least he wasn’t mean to him.

Only a few days later, more cannibals came to the island with another host of prisoners. This time, Friday and Crusoe attacked, killing the cannibals and saving two people- one of them being Friday’s father, and another is a Spaniard. The Spaniard tells Crusoe and Friday that the other Spaniards got wrecked on the mainland and are waiting there, and that he and Friday’s father will get them, bring them back, build a ship, and then sail to a Spanish port. All is agreed upon and the pair depart for the mainland.

I would have gone with the two of them- safer and then you could just build the ship on the mainland! No need to cart everything around. But as it were, they went alone, and before they got back, and English ship sailed to the island. The ship was full of mutineers, who planned to leave the captain and any crew members who were against mutiny on the island. Crusoe and Friday discover this, and strike a bargain with the ship captain- they then help him overthrow the mutineers and leave THEM on the island, while they make a voyage to England. Crusoe tells the mutineers before leaving about the island and how he survives, and tells them that more men will be back soon.

Back in England, Crusoe discovers he was left nothing in his parents’ will, as they believed him dead. Sad, he then collects his money from his plantation in Brazil. Friday travels with him. I guess that after that VERY long voyage, Crusoe got a slave after all… he just got a little more than he bargained for.

Daylight Savings

And daylight savings begins... NOW! I have scheduled this post to come out right at 2:00 a.m. in the Eastern Time Zone. An hour forward... and I have to get up early tomorrow. JOY. Did you know that DST was actually a choice back in 1966... and the states that didn't want to participate didn't have to!? In fact, today, Arizona and a handful of other states don't.

It is craziness- with the different time zones to account for, you could have a town in Kentucky, which could be just 5 miles away from a Tennessee town just across the time zone "border"- and during daylight savings have them be 2 hours about. "Oh yeah, I just have to run down to the grocery store- OH WAIT, IT'S ACROSS THE TIME ZONE BORDER AND IT'S DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME! Which means it won't open for another 2 hours, completely throwing off my plan for the day."

Also, DST is still a free choice in many states, and if it is voted for enough I guess then the state does not participate in Daylight Savings.

Maddie

Snow Troubles

For my readers that don't know, my Grandma moved up here to live with us from NJ. She took her car with her, and it does not have four wheel drive. We have a long driveway that goes uphill, and the driveway got icy today. We couldn't get up the driveway, so me and my sister walked up the driveway and got my Dad. While Dad went down the driveway, me and my sister stayed in the house and got out of our snow clothes.


I had a soda, and decided to split it with my sister in a glass. I gave it to her, and when she was done she left it on the VERY EDGE of the kitchen island. I didn't see it, and when I walked by and accidentally knocked over the glass. CRASH! Glass all over the place... I panicked because I was barefoot and standing in the middle of it. My sister figured it was a good idea to crunch a piece with her shoe (You know, to get rid of it) and that made a bigger mess.

Thankfully, Dad and Grandma got up the driveway just a minute later and were able to help me clean up. Alls well that ends well :)

Maddie

My Poem

Yesterday, I was feeling poetic and I ended up writing a good poem. I am unsure of what to call it though- but I still wanted to share it with my readers. Here it is:

If I wish upon a star,

Will it take me near or far?

Up into my wildest dreams,

Or raining down reality?

If I want to leave this place,

I'll close my eyes and fly away,

Up into a world so bright,

Always day and never night...

Running, shouting through the fields,

My imagination reels,

Through the false reality,

I've created just for me.

Well, there is my poetry. Do you like it? Leave me a comment below. I think I am just going to call the poem "Dream World".. when I began writing it I did not intend to put it on my blog, but decided halfway through it was good enough to go up. By then I was caught up in writing and didn't think of a name for it. Oh well.

Do you have a poetic side? Write me a poem and leave it in the comments.. I try to read and reply to all of them.

Maddie

Discovering New Music

I just recently discovered Cher Lloyd's music- and she is AWESOME! I think that the only time I had heard her before this week was performing at the Nickelodeon award show or something. She has a ton of AMAZING songs and I am currently searching YouTube for more. I personally like her song "Riot!" best, but here are some of her other good songs:

• End Up Here
• Want U Back
• Oath
• I Wish
• Beautiful People
• Behind the Music

I also recently discovered the band Evanescence. I had known of just two of their songs, but a couple of searches on YouTube gave me a wide selection of their music- some songs that I found to be BETTER than the ones I had already heard!!! Here are some of the songs I found:

• Hello
• Going Under
• All That I'm Living For
• Missing
• Like You
• Snow White Queen
• Imaginary
• ... andddd a bunch of others.

My readers should definitely go check these songs out. There are too many to link to, but just search them on youtube and then leave me a comment telling me what you think! If you know of a good song by either of these artists that you think I would like, let me know in the comments!!!

Maddie