News of the World

Today, Monday December 14 (2009) is a A Connections day. But no, really -tonight is the Geminids meteor shower. The moon will be a 'thin crescent moon' near sunrise, 'so it won't dim the Geminids' luster.' Here is what the site says (click title for a link)

How can I best view a meteor shower?

If you live near a brightly lit city, drive away from the glow of city lights and toward the constellation from which the meteors will appear to radiate.

For example, drive north to view the Leonids. Driving south may lead you to darker skies, but the glow will dominate the northern horizon, where Leo rises. Perseid meteors will appear to "rain" into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m. in mid-August.

After you've escaped the city glow, find a dark, secluded spot where oncoming car headlights will not periodically ruin your sensitive night vision. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites.

Once you have settled at your observing spot, lay back or position yourself so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by.

How do I know the sky is dark enough to see meteors?

If you can see each star of the Little Dipper, your eyes have "dark adapted," and your chosen site is probably dark enough. Under these conditions, you will see plenty of meteors.

So there you have it. Meteor shower, tonight!

-Madison

....

Ok, so sorry I haven' posted anything new on here. Its just there isn't really anything TO post. If I think of something, I'll let you know.

Mrs. Schwartz

Mrs. Schwartz died on Saturday. I've known her since third grade, when I met her son as well. She had a cold, and was working at Simonton Elementary. She 'had an episode' as my teacher put it (Not really sure what that means) and was taken to the hospital, where they performed a surgery. She was on life support, and they took her off on Saturday because she was unconscious the whole time. She was signed up for Organ Donation, she they did that 9:15 am. Aaron and his sister both went to school today, wanting everything to be as normal as possible. The DMS Care Team is giving Restraunt Gift Cards to them, because they probably don't want to cook. The service is at Wage's on Wedsnay, at 10:00. They don't want everyone to wear black, because it is a Celebration of her life -not a tribute to her death. She is going to be cremated, and there will not be a viewing.

She was very nice, and funny. She was...Mrs. Schwartz.

Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Go here ( http://rlv.zcache.com/halloween_cartoon_ghost_sticker-p217698959333315487qjcl_400.jpg ) To get a ghost sticker of your own

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OK, so a lot has happened since I last posted (Sorry!)

Especially in the last twenty-four hours.

I had a fireside where we were meeting at a Kroger and then driving to the Glenridge church building. So I got ready, got in the car, and off we drove. After dropping off Kara at her Gymnastics place, we (my mom and I) started to drive to a Kroger.

Somewhere down Braselton (Street? Lane? I don't know) there was a street connecting with ours, like a three-way.

Well he (in a little black car) decided to pull out when we were going down the road. My mom hit the breaks....but we slammed into his car. We pulled over onto the shoulder, and part of his bumper had flown off.

And by the way...It was soooooo his fault. Just thought I'd mention that.

Both of his air bags went off, but not ours. My mom saw a second guy (hence the second air bag) but he ran off. She called the police.

Eventually I climbed out of the car. My mom's door had some problems, as did the front of the car (the part that comes down beneath the lights). And a headlight was hanging by its cord.... But we were fine.

A while later, the Taylors came, also dressed up for the fireside. My mom told them what happened, and asked if they would give me a ride there. So I left with them.

We circled back to see if the police were there yet, to see if I would have to stay. He wasn't....but a marine was.

He had one of those white hate with a dark rim, a khaki shirt, and blue pants with red stripes on the sides. It looked pretty cool.

Anyways, turned out he just stopped by to make sure everything was ok, and waited until the police came. My dad came sometime after I left.

Meanwhile....

I hung out with my friends in the parking lot for awhile. Every car filled up except one...so me and Heather rode with her. We watched the Series of Unfortunate Events...or part of it.

We climbed out of the mini van when we got there, and walked inside the church building. It was the 'Be Smart: CES Fireside' We took booklets and sat down.

CES: Church Education System. We learned about BYU, BYU Idaho, BYU Hawaii, LDS Buisness College, and the Institute of Religion.

So one guy talked about BYU Hawaii, someone else about BYUI, and so on. Some people even got t-shirts for answering questions. But I didn't....not that I knew any of the answers ;)

So I went back to Kroger with the Taylors, Lauren Taylor, Cassidy (Or maybe it has a K), Alex, and Heather, where my dad picked me up.

And so ends my long night...it was fun though...the fireside, not the crash.

Well....

OK, so not much has happened recently. Just life as usual... or not so much, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, I came here to tell some tales of other things. For instance:

Powerful Indonesia quake kills 75, traps thousands (AP)

AP - A powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering landslides and trapping thousands under collapsed buildings — including two hospitals, an official said. At least 75 bodies were found, but the toll was expected to be far higher.

And then there's this:

General Motors to shut down Saturn

After a deal falls apart with Penske, GM announces plans to phase out the brand. What happened

Oh, and this:

Tsunami flood captured on video

A witness tapes video footage of the devastating surges that flattened villages in Samoa. 'Very unreal'

No School

I woke up this morning, and my mom and Kara left for school, like any other day. But there was a storm last night.

Five or ten minutes after they left, my mom called. She said school was delayed an hour ad a half because of flooding and the roads were so bad.

Close to an hour later, she called again. School has been cancelled today, she said.

So today I don't know what I'm going to do, but it won't be going to school!

Quotes by People

Ever in need of some quotes? Well this edition of My Life and Other Tales is all about them. So here's some quotes!

"The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs."

- Charles de Gaulle

"I detest life-insurance agents: they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so."

-Stephen Leacock

"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

-Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."

-Pabloe Picasso

"May you live every day of your life."

-Jonathon Swift

"I'm willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong."

-Samuel Goldwyn

"I, Joan Crawford, I believe in the dollar. Everything I earn, I spend."

-Joan Crawford

Well that concludes this Quotes by People.

Grand Opening

Welcome to the blog of Madison Wheeler.

I am Madison, and this is my blog. (As you've probably guessed from the sentence above this) I'm 13 and I'm in eighth grade.

I ride the bus to and from school. Today on the way home, I was leaning against the window, talking to some friends. Then the bus shook for a second. I thought the bus had broken down or something, because what else would make it shake like that? Then I turned around and looked out the window, because everyone was yelling about something. A car had hit the bus!

It was right under me, too. The car had backed into the bus from its drive way, hit the bus, then pulled forward again. The driver got out, or course. Mr. Adams, the bus driver, had contacted the supervisor and whoever else and said 'We have a Code 5.' Of course, we could figure out it meant a crash, but why speak in code? Then he sent around a paper to put our names on, and almost everyone came up front after that to see what happened. Some people acroos th street came over, one on the phone, and said 'We saw the whole thing. Is everyone alright?'

A while later someone mentioned that my mom was here, and I poked my head out the window. We talked for a minute, and my mom asked if I could leave. He said no. Then other kid's parents started to show up, and my dad came as well. My mom had to leave, but by then the supervisor had shown up. She and my dad argued for a minute, and she finally let me off. 'We have a code 5!' she had told my dad when he asked if I could get off.

'It hardly lefy a dent! She's fine, your saying she can't go home?

'That's besides the point!'

'Is it a law, or a county or board rule?'

'Its a county rule!'

'So its not a law? Then why can't she get off?' Yeah, I thought. Why can't I get off? I'm sure the other kids were thinking the same thing. Eventually I got off. After I ate my dinner I saw that everyone else had been let off. I ran outside to go ask Erika, one of my friends, what happened. She said that everyone was fine, but Mckayla, a girl who lied about almost everything, said she hit her head and then that her chest hurt. So they called an ambulance.

After it showed up, my dad mentioned that the car's driver had been arrested. A while later the ambulance left. I went and talked to Erika again for a bit, then went over to hang out with Camille, anothe friend. We played tag with two balls, it was funny. Then we played Monkey Ball with her sister, which was very fun. Then I had to go home, and here I am.