New Desk Setup

Today we decided to change around our computors. It started yesterday when mommy's computer broke down because of a virus attack. After cleaning out the computer and updating the software, I managed to successfully install a operating system called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a free alternative to the windows operating system. I'm now typing from the fixed computer. Everything's working fine and I hope to update the software later tonight.

Timothy 14

Harmony Grove Fire

A fire started by a metal weed eater consumed a total of 3 acres near our home. At about 2:30 PM we began to smell smoke in the air. We rushed outside to see the hill adjacent to ours engulfed in smoke. I took the first picture ( see first photo ) before we decided to evacuate. We drove all the way up to the side of a mountain. We watched in amazement as the firemen put out the last flames. I took out the binoculars and faced my camera lens through them to get a in-depth look at the charred area ( see second photo ). I also noticed that a large flock of birds were flying near us, so I decided to take a picture of them ( see third photo ). After we realized the fire was out and we were safe from harm and smoke we returned home.

I began to think it's just a matter of time until another fire threatens our house. There is not much we can do to prevent a fire from starting, but there is a lot we can do to weaken it's effects.

First, clear away as much brush in your yard as possible. I know this many be a great ordeal for some homes, especially ours, but anything counts.

Second, always be prepared to evacuate. You never know when something much happen. The best way to be safe is to be prepared.

Third, own smoke masks. The greatest killer in a fire situation is the smoke it produces. Normal dust masks do help, but they don't prevent most of the toxic gasses produced in a fire. Also they are likely to become over loaded by the smoke particles in the air. A way to prevent smoke inhalation is to wet a towel and wrap it around your face. This can be troublesome because you have to keep holding it. The best solution is a professional smoke mask. These masks can be expensive, but it's a worth while investment.

Read more about the fire here!
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_754dab2e-80a2-11df-adb5-001cc4c03286.html

-Timothy 14

Oceanside Field Trip

We drove to the town of Oceanside as a field trip. Oceanside is a relatively small beach town about sixty miles southeast of Las Angeles.

Our first stop was the California Surf Museum. The museum exhibit was about women surfers. At the beginning of the museum they had a swimsuit on display from the early nineteen hundreds, if I remember right. The early swimsuits were much more modest than the modern swim clothing. As we made our way through the museum we came across the real surf board of Bethany Hamilton. She was a woman who lost her arm in a shark attack off the coast of Hawaii in October 2003. She survived the attack and went back to surfing in only three weeks. The board obviously has a large portion of it bitten out. After we were done looking we went back to the car.

The next museum we went to is the Oceanside Museum of Art. The theme of this museum was World War II art. The paintings were very interesting. They were beautiful, but the paintings were of tanks and anti-aircraft weapons. Still, the paintings were nicely balanced. After we were done we decided to go into the next room of the museum. The entire other room was filled with abstract paintings from only one artist, opposed to the other room with very detailed and meaningful paintings my many different artists. I actually didn't like the paintings in there very much. When we were done downstairs we began to explore the upstairs. Upstairs there were much fewer painting. My favorite paintings on the upstairs were ones of Oceanside itself. There were paintings of areas we drove past earlier on our trip. When we were all done we went back down stairs and back to the car.

I noticed the culture of Oceanside is very different from the rest of society, especially speaking of the dress code. Women can walk down the main streets only wearing a swimsuit which would be very socially unacceptable or even against the law in other towns. The city is built around the "Surf culture".

Overall the field trip was a great learning experience. We learned a lot about the community which we couldn't have done without actually being there.

-Timothy 14

Nathaniel Joke Time

Question: What two months are married?

Answer: May and June! (May has Mother's Day and June has Father's Day.)

Comic: Timothy the gardener

We have our own gardening bullfrog to grow food for us! He's got tomatoes and basil so far. :D

monster drawing

Nathaniel tried drawing me as a monster and himself as a nice person, but at the last minute I changed the names around.

Nathaniel says "I hate timmy!"