The object that I want to make for my Flatland project is the Chinese Dragon. I chose it because I want to try to make it. One legend of the origin of the dragon is the Totem-Worship theory. Each tribe had an animal or protector called a totem of the tribe that the people believed that they were related to. It was said that one tribe set out against the 9 other tribes of the Yellow River Valley. The first tribe took the totems of the tribes they defeated and put it in their own totem and the leader of that tribe claimed to be the monarch of the central planes of China, making the dragon totem popular.
In Chinese culture, the dragon represents the East and the wood element. It is one of the four guardians – the Dragon, the White Tiger, the Tortoise, and the Vermilion Bird. The Chinese calendar has 12 animals and every year, it is the year of a different animal (year of rabbit, then year of dragon, then year of snake, and so on). The dragon is a powerful symbol of Chinese culture and you are presumed to have a happy life. The supreme power of emperors is represented by the Chinese Dragon.
The Chinese Dragon has an interesting history and a big mark on Chinese culture. I am really excited to make the dragon.
Works Cited
Wu, Annie. “The Chinese Dragon – a Symbol of Strength and Power.” China Highlights. N.p., 7 Dec. 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/article-chinese-dragons.htm>.
Flatland is a 2 dimensional land where everyone is a geometric shape. The shapes go from three-sided triangles to circles with an infinite number of angles. The triangles do the hard work, like guard duty. The squares work in offices and the Circles are the priests who are supposed to be wise. In the Flatland movie, a square called Arthur square has a strange dream where he travels to Pointland, a place with a point who likes to say “me” a lot. Than, he travels to Lineland, where there is only ONE dimension – length. He encounters the King of Lineland who can only go side to side and cannot go forwards or backwards. Arthur then freaks the King out and goes back to Flatland. then, he sees Spherius, a 3 dimensional sphere from the third dimension – Spaceland. Spherius takes Arthur to Spaceland and Arthur finds a new dimension – height. When Arthur wakes up, he finds out that Hex, his granddaughter, has gone to Area 33h, an area sort of like what we call Area 51. Arthur gets caught but Spherius saves him from death by the Circles. After Flatland finds out about the Third Dimension, Hex wonders if there is a Fourth Dimension. Then, the camera lowers under the Cube of Area 33h and shows another cube – this one with a square inside … a Tesseract (a cube with a cube inside) that probably represents the fourth dimension. This is a great movie with a great plot.
One of the two quotes that stood out to me was “We are all born different, so don’t be the same.” The quote made me think that we are all different and special in our own ways and since we are all different, why be exactly the same as the person next to you or your best friend. Another quote was “I am but a small voice”. It makes me think about who or what the world might listen to. The world might not take a small voice, one person, seriously but if you gather a lot of people, the world might listen because a lot of people is a bigger voice that the world might listen to. Every human is unique and if a team works together, they could make one big voice that the world might listen to but one person on his/her own would have a small voice the world might not listen to.
Click here to go to my scientist scrapbook flipsnack. I made the book cover, the photo page, the interview, and the news article. The name of my scientist is Enrico Fermi.
The Mayan Ballgame had many interesting aspects. The outcome of each game affected the lives of everyone playing and watching. The winning team was showered with praise, gratitude, and riches from the crowd. The ballgame was rigged because home team was trained well and would mostly win. The “away” team was made up of captured warriors that would lose because of the way the game was set up. The players attempted to hit the ball through a stone ring to score points. The ballgame was like an earlier, riskier version of volleyball because the ball was bounced off between the teams. The team who lost the game would get tortured. The ball could be banked or hit against walls to keep it in play. The Manopla (handstone) was worn on the hand, of course, and was used to help hit the ball. The Yuguito was meant to be a knee protector but some players wore it on their shins or wrists. A helmet was always worn to protect the head from the ball which weighs about 8 pounds. The uniform had to be light so players could move easily in it. The playing alley area of the court had a floor of stone or plaster. The end zone is at the ends of the playing alley to make the “I” shape of the court.
The Ballgame was not only for entertainment but also had some religious aspects to it. The competition was based on religious beliefs. The losing team’s captain was painted with red stripes to be sacrificed. Parts of the uniform were only used for special ceremonies. The losing team (other than the captain) were kept as war captives. The balls were made from rubber strips that were wrapped around skulls. Some of the balls were sacrificed to gods. The skulls might have been skulls of defeated captains. The yoke, shoes, headdress, and other parts of the uniform were only worn for ceremonies. The Palma is a symbol of the wearer’s athletic ability. The Yoke was worn around the waist and made of stone. The Hacha was a symbol of power. In the city plan, the court was built closer to the less important buildings. The rings used for point-scoring were decorated with pictures of gods. The bench (flat area at the base of the court walls) was decorated with pictures of human sacrifice. Those were some of the interesting aspects of the Mayan Ballgame.
My salary and my retirement savings grew at different rates. My retirement savings grew from $0 in the first year to $384,000 in the 30th year. My salary grew from $57,636 to $118,000 at a 2.5% rate in 30 years. As my salary increased, my savings grew because I had some money that I could put aside into my retirement savings account. Once I saved enough money, I decided to put a bit more money yearly into my retirement savings. In the first year, the amount I put in was $2881. Over a period of 30 years, the amount I put in nearly doubled to $5897. Part of the magic of compound interest is that in this case, after 12 years, the amount of money I get back is more than the amount of money that I put in.
Working with the budget for the first time was very difficult. I started by looking at cars because I like cool cars. I chose a BMW 328i as my car and ended up spending $438.85 as the monthly payment which might have been a little too much. After I picked a car, I realized I couldn’t get a nice place to live and save money. So, I decided to get a roommate. The total expenses for my car were $688.85. The cost of my clothes, personal care/hygiene, pets, data services, and groceries are $364 total. The groceries are $50 instead of $75. I am keeping $1113.80 for my retirement and savings. I have no money owed to anyone for student loans or credit cards and $385 for other things or categories. Some of those categories are giving or donations, miscellaneous, and fun or entertainment. Lastly, the taxes are made up of federal and state taxes, Medicare, and social security.
Once I realized I was spending too much, I decided to get a roommate not only for company but also for lower costs. The mortgage price is divided by two and the utilities’ price is also dropped. Instead of paying $75 for groceries, me and my roommate can pool money or split the cost to get groceries for $50.
I had to compromise on my list of “wants” because my monthly car payment was a lot and I wanted to save money. For instance, instead of getting cable TV, I can just get Netflix and share the family plan with my parents for a gym. Instead of starting a new cell phone, I can share my parents’ data plan and pay them. I want a pet but it might have to wait. I can go to restaurants and movies but I can’t go every day or week… I have to reduce my spending. In my savings, I kept more than enough money and it is kept in the bank so I get interest. The interest will increase my savings over time and that will be good for my future.
BMW 328i- monthly payment is $438.85
Home and 50/30/20 Budget
The first time I tried the 50/30/20 budget strategy, I exceeded 50% on needs because I spent too much on my car and my house. To even my spending out, I decided to get a roommate for company and also, the prices for the house and utilities lower. The price for the house cuts in half because there are 2 people paying for it instead of one and the utilities are 10.5% of the house cost. If I got a roommate, some of my needs would be reduced like my grocery costs dropping from $75 to $50 because two people are pooling/sharing money to buy groceries. The house I chose is at 1021 Brighthurst Drive and my share of the mortgage cost is $547.56.
After I figured that out, I ended up spending too much on my wants which made me need to reduce my spending on pets, TV, and entertainment. Everyone wants a pet but for me, it will have to wait. Cable TV might cost too much so I’ll get Netflix because it is just as good and costs less. Movies are amazing so I can watch some in theatres and some when (or if) they get on Netflix. And nice restaurants and vacations have to wait until I am more settled. I can do restaurants every few weeks but vacations start at once or twice a year for me.
At the bottom right of the box, the number is 10 to the power of 0.0. It means 10 to the power of 0 which equals 1.
One thing I learned about was the quantum or spacetime foam. I would tell you the size but I can’t because it is so small that the foam cannot be measured or seen. It is at 10 to the negative 35th power or 0.00000000001 yoctometers. The foam is also the very foundation of the fabric of the universe.
We use negative exponents in scientific notation because they are an easier way of saying that a number needs to be smaller. As for positive exponents, they are an easier way of saying that a number needs to be bigger-> 543,321,678=5.43321678 multiplied by 10 to the power of 8. If you are multiplying multiple numbers, you can just simplify the numbers and add the powers of 10 to get one big final problem instead of another process. Scientific notation is just an easier way of saying numbers that are too big or small.
