David Roberts Public Feed

David Roberts Capstone

Posted by David Roberts in CTE Senior Capstone · Kamal/Shagin/Ugworji · Wed on
​ Last summer, I made an outdoor enclosure for my cats. It has stood outside my house since. After showing it off to my family and friends, I received a lot of positive feedback. More people that I had imagined showed interest in the idea, and I took this opportunity to create a small business of sorts around the Catio. 
My first step was to create two basic models. I took the design from the Catio I made for my cats and improved it, making it more suitable for creation and distribution. I then had to evaluate the cost. I found out how much wood and screen I would need for each design and added up the cost. I then decided on a retail price that would satisfy my needs for building materials and an hourly wage. All this I combined into a website that is currently published at www.tinyurl.com/phillycatios and then into a brochure.
My first customer is a doctor at my mother’s vet. She had expressed interest in a Catio, and after some back and forth over email, I got to work. I visited her home and took pictures and measurements of where she wanted the Catio to be placed. I made a custom model that fit her needs, and priced it accordingly. After purchasing the required materials, I spent most of Easter break building, painting, and enclosing the Catio. And then on the 28th, I took my creation back to her home and installed it.
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IMG-20190428-WA0008

Attard, Janet. "39 Low-Cost Ways to Promote Your Business." Business Know How, January 6, 2019. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/24waysto.htm.

This is another article about advertising written by Janet Attard. She highlights 39 low cost ways of advertising. This is essential because while I have some financial support, I don’t have hundreds to spend on advertising. These low cost methods will be vital to growing my business.


Babich, Nick. "A Comprehensive Guide To Product Design." Smashing Magazine, January 31, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/01/comprehensive-guide-product-design/.

A product is central to a business. This article will help me understand the ins and outs of designing a profitable product. I don’t want to go through all this work designing a product and then realizing it won’t be profitable. This article will help me avoid everything that might lead to that ending.


Bernazzani, Sophia. "7 Ways to Make Every Interaction With Customers Fantastic." HubSpot, June 20, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/interaction-with-customers.

I will no doubt interact with my customers over the course of this project. This interact can often decide the customers opinion of me. This article will help me over the course of these interactions and give me pointers and suggestions. The customers are the basis of any business, and no matter the conditions, all interactions should be positive.


Driver, Saige. "Social Media for Business: A Marketer's Guide." Business News Daily, October 15, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7832-social-media-for-business.html.

Social Media will most likely be the best way to grow my business. This article by Saige Driver will be my guide to using Social Media to my advantage. She discusses what the dos and don’ts of the Social Media world that will allow for the best chance of success.

Iwuoha, John-Paul. "10 Cheap and Interesting Ways to Attract More Customers to Your Small Business." Smallstarter, February 10, 2014. Accessed January 23, 2019.  http://www.smallstarter.com/know-the-basics/10-ways-to-attract-more-customers-to-your-small-business/.  

One of the hardest part of this project will be attracting buyers. This article can help me expanding my business and reaching out to potential customers. The ideas presented by John-Paul Iwuoha can help me understand what customers like and how to convince them my product is worth buying.


McCreary, Matthew. "The Complete, 12-Step Guide to Starting a Business." Entrepreneur, October 23, 2017. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/297899.

This source will provide me with more information on the process behind starting a business. Having two articles on the same subject can give me opposing or agreeing ideas that will help me further understand the topic. The two different authors will most certainly have different views on what is most important.


Odjick, Desirae. "How to Price Your Product: What You Need to Know About Pricing Before You Launch." Shopify, May 28, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-price-your-product.

In addition to product design, effectively pricing my product will be essential. Too high, and people won’t buy it. Too low, and I won’t make enough profit to sustain my business. This article will help me in that process.


Rivera, Andreas. "How to Start a Business: A Step-by-Step Guide." Business News Daily, June 7, 2018. Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4686-how-to-start-a-business.html.  

Going into this project, I have not a single clue about how I could start a business. This article written by Andreas Rivera outlines some basic steps that I could take to start a business. This article covers finances, themes and ideas, advertising to customers, and the whole nine yards. I can also use this article to start thinking about how I want to run my business.


SAGE Publications. "Customer service is an emotional experience." ScienceDaily.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120831123651.htm (accessed January 23, 2019).


This last article by Science Daily goes into the science behind customer interaction. It states that there are many emotions behind customer business interactions and that there are many things that I can do to improve that interaction.


Wood, Meredith. "The Ultimate Guide to Managing Small Business Finances." Fundera, Inc, November 19, 2018. Accessed January 24, 2019. https://www.fundera.com/blog/business-finance.

One of the most important things about running a small business is managing finances. I will need to know the essentials when I start my own. If I cannot fund my business, I will lose customers and my reputation will suffer. I need to know how to managed my business’ finances or else it will cease.

Audio Silence (1984): Literal and Figurative

Posted by David Roberts in College English · Giknis · B Band on

Group members: David, James, Kwan, Ayala, Eric

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In today's podcast, Audio Silence discusses the book 1984 written by George Orwell. 1984 takes place in a totalitarian society governed by the Party and Big Brother. The Party rules with an iron fist, watching everyone all the time. One of the ways they accomplish this rock solid rule is by altering the past. In this podcast, we share and discuss some literal and figurative examples of the main character's investigation into this altered past.

Sources cited:
- pg 80 "The point was that at both...the confessions were lies."
- pg 100 "Winston came across to...he did not remember the statue."
- pg 98 "What appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one."

https://www.soundtrap.com/play/xN-r6ewgT9OfXWm7Lyh4mA/english-1984-pod-cast/

The Road Creative Project

Posted by David Roberts in College English · Giknis · B Band on

3 to 8 players with a closed hand are dealt a knife card, clothes card, and 3 food cards. This is their starting hand. At the beginning of each turn, players scavenge, or draw one card from a stack of 52 called the “scavenge pile.” Better weapons, additional food, additional clothes, and a rare cart can all be scavenged from that pile. Players are constrained to a maximum of five cards when their turn ends. On a turn, players have several options. First, they can attack another player. In doing so, the attacking player has to consume and discard a food card, while the defending player does not. Both attacking and defending players reveal their highest quality weapon. Every weapon can attack without restraint, except for the gun. If the attack, or defending player has no bullet, the gun cannot be used, and if not backup weapon is available, they lose immediately. Both players are assigned dice according the quality of their weapon. Knife cards receive one dice, flare gun cards get two, bow and arrow cards get three, and gun cards get four. Each player rolls their die and counts up the total amount that they rolled. Whoever has the highest total wins the fight and the other player dies. Both attacking and defending players can die. When a player dies, they reveal their hand and lay their cards on the table face up, and the winner of the fight can steal up to two card from the dying player’s hand. Second, players can steal rather than scavenging. If a player has died or is sleeping, they reveal their cards and lay them on the table face up. Instead of scavenging, players can steal only one card from any of theses piles, and then can proceed to other actions in their turn. Third, in the case that a player is running low on food, they can sleep that turn. Sleeping players cannot scavenge, steal, or attack on their turn, and they reveal their hand. At the end of each turn, players consume and discard a food card, as if to eat. Players that cannot eat at the end of their turn die. Sleeping players do not have to eat at the end of their turn. In addition, if a player has no clothing cards at the end of their turn, they die. Lastly, at any time during their turn, players can discard any card they do not desire. These discarded but not consumed cards are placed back into the scavenge pile at the bottom. Good Luck!

The novel revolves around survival. That is the characters’ only real struggle and we wanted to reflect that in a survival game. We decided against a game involving teamwork because, even though the man and his son work together, the world they live in is truly every man for himself. There are some examples of teamwork, but for the most part, the man and his son are alone and helpless. When creating items we kept in mind the value of each. For example, there is only one gun in the entire deck. In the novel, a gun was considered the most valuable thing one could find. There are also only two flare guns for the same reason. The bow and arrow however, are more common in the deck as they can be easily created in the novel. We also used similar reasoning when assigning dice quantities to each weapon. We gave the gun four dice as it is the most powerful weapon one could possess. It can only be used with a bullet, so we decided to keep the two separate and rare. A bow and arrow has similar characteristics to a gun but less powerful and less accurate. Therefore, we gave it three dice. The flare gun cannot kill as efficiently as the previous two weapons, but possesses the range that a knife does not. We gave it two dice. Lastly, the knife is the weakest weapon and we it allotted one dice. Warm and food are also huge factors in the novel’s characters’ survival and we implement this into the game as well. Players die without food or clothing so maintaining the two are important in the game, as well as in the book. We added stealing and the related game mechanics into the game to mirror the instances in the book where the characters were stolen from. While the game is played with a closed hand, players that steal from others can inspect their victim’s hand and choose a card. In the book, the characters are stolen from when they were unable to protect their belongings and the thief had the chance to inspect their stores. Finally, each turn players scavenge a card. At every opportunity, the characters scavenged what they could to survive, and so we decided that every turn players scavenge a card. In addition, a cart was added to echo the cart the characters used to carry more item than usual. There are some aspects that we added to make the game playable. Sleeping was added to give players a way to preserve their life and remain longer in the game. There are disadvantages to sleeping, so players are forced to either sleep or attack. The competitive aspect was also added. There is some competition in the novel but it is rare. The competition our game creates is to make the game more enjoyable and engaging. The book was slow and dull at some points and we did not want to make a game as such.

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20181220_200702

Advanced Essay #3 - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in English 3 · Block · A Band on

David Roberts


Mr. Block


English 3


9 March 2018


The Battle of Battle Royale Games

Recently, within the gaming community, a furious debate has emerged between the supporters of the two most popular battle royale games: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite. PUBG, for short, the first game to be released of the two, is a “realistic military shooter at its core,” as Erik Kain stated in his article comparing the two games on Forbes.com. 100 players, all fighting to survive, are released into an arena to fight to the death. Only one survives. PUBG, which is praised for its mechanics, the inner workings of the game, exploded into the gaming community, selling 10 million copies sold in just 6 months. In addition, Fortnite shares the same overall plot. But there are some differences. Fortnite, from the day it was released, has been a less realistic, almost “cartoonish,” as Kain  called it, and has always been called a ripoff of its predecessor PUBG. Despite this, Fortnite has been revered for its smooth gameplay and its absence of cheaters, both of which occur in PUBG. Regardless, the debate between the PUBG players and the Fortnite players has reached monumental proportions. Both sides argue that their game is better, without actually listening to the other side’s opinion. However, all this bickering leads back to one main question: are players of Fortnite real gamers? The gaming community is very particular about who is part of their community, and having this debate is a way to filter out people who don’t deserve to be a part of it.


Players of PUBG have always thought of Fortnite as the more childish game of the two, and for good reason. First, the graphics, the overall looks, are like a “cartoon,” states user Pedro Deuces on a skynetgaming.net forum. The characters are animated and modeled after fictional figures. The building structures and terrain features of the map can be compared to those seen in children’s books. But most importantly, the game is free to play. This means that a possible player does not have to pay any monetary value to download, install, and play the game. The main reasoning behind the hate for free to play games is that “the majority [of free games] are garbage, pay to win, clones of actual good games,” stated user FarplaneDragon on a GameSpot.com forum. Free games are incomplete rip offs of paid to play games. All of these things put together give PUBG players a reasonable excuse to accuse Fortnite players of not being real gamers, which is a huge insult to those within the gaming community. Fortnite players are quick to fire back though.

Despite its recent glory, PUBG has many flaws. Because of its realistic nature, the game is incredibly hard to run. The graphics make its loading times longer and its lag, which occurs when the screen freezes for shorts amount of time, increase. Therefore, players, or even prospective players, who do not maintain a high quality computer, which is a large part of the community, can experience these issues much more. Fortnite, on the other hand, does not have these issues. Also, PUBG is riddled with cheaters. Players that download external programs into the game to help improve their aim and other things are called cheaters. As Kain states, “playing against cheaters in a competitive shooter is about the least fun thing I can imagine.” These two things about PUBG, although being overlooked by current players, are slowing gaining attention and in turn forcing players away from the game. Nonetheless, PUBG is still considered the more mature game, and therefore the better game.


The gaming community is very particular about who gets in and who is rejected, and players of Fortnite are in the gray area. The players fit the description. They play on console or PC, and not on mobile, which is a whole other debate. The game format is also compatible. Other battle royale games like PUBG and H1Z1 get a pass. But the issue is the game itself. Being free to play, Fortnite can initially rejected, as most free to play games are. To add on, the graphics are cartoonish and childish, making the whole game childish. Finally, Fortnite is considered by many a rip off of PUBG, a game made and released before Fortnite. These reasons are the key issues for players of Fortnite impending induction into the gaming community.


Bibliography:

Kain, Erik. “'PUBG' Still Does One Thing So Much Better Than 'Fortnite'.” Forbes.com, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/02/23/pubg-still-does-one-thing-so-much-better-than-fortnite/#53c53a8f510e.

Thier, Dave. “'Fortnite: Battle Royale' Does One Thing So Much Better Than 'PUBG'.” Forbes.com, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2018/02/25/fortnite-battle-royale-does-one-thing-so-much-better-than-pubg/#76905b222e1d .


Advance Essay #2 - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in English 3 · Block · A Band on

This is an essay about my love for literacy stems from my earlier love for books. Because of my exposure to books, I have learned to love literacy.

Literacy is a part of life that many people underestimate. When any form of literacy is left out of the curriculum, people forget it. It becomes something they no longer pay attention to, and when mentioned, its gets degraded into oblivion. But literacy is really something great. It does in fact play a huge part in our lives, and no matter what people say about, it will always be there. Whether literacy takes the form of social media, news, writing a paper, or other things, it will remain a major part of life. This is why we cannot forget it. And I, from experience, can say that books don’t give me the chance to forget literacy.

“Let’s go bud, time for bed,” my mom called to me.
I put down my pencil and ran up the stairs to get ready for bed. I always loved reading; it would make my imagination run wild. I didn’t know how yet to read, but with everyday I got a little bit closer to understanding.

“Alright son, tonight, we’re going to finish The Horse and His Boy.”

“Nice,” I replied. “Finally the ending!”

As soon as I was born, my parents were reading to me, or so I was told. My parents to me so often, that they still today tell me about all the books I read during my childhood. Granted, they have given a significant portion of those away, but there still exists a small collection of children’s books in the house. My parents say those are their favorites. has left me with a true love for reading and literature.I have learned to love all different kinds of books, whether that was a biography about some famous person, or a nonfiction novel about a kid’s experience growing up with no parents, or even a science fiction novel about life on another planet. I’ve learned to truly appreciate books

As I got older, and learned how to read, I would do it  constantly. I would read anything I could get my hands on, whether it was a nonfiction book, magazine, or even an essay online about something I was interested in. I think it is acceptable to say that there was never a time in my early childhood when I wasn’t currently reading something. Nowadays, this is no longer true, but I distinctly remember reading all the time, even if that meant re-reading a series once or even twice because I loved it so much. Sherman Alexie described my situation perfectly in her essay titled, The Joy of Reading and Writing, “I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open.” She, like myself, remember reading whenever she could, even when she wasn’t supposed to be.

Jimmy Santiago Baca put how I felt about books into words in the film A Place to Stand. “I didn’t want to the guy to hit my eyes so I could read the story.” I was so deeply in love with reading that if something happened to me that rendered me unable to read, part of me would die. Reading was such a big part of my childhood, that if I didn’t have books, I don’t think I would be same person I am today. I would not have the same imagination, the same creativity that I have today. And those things are such a part of me that I would indeed be a different person.

Looking back on these things, I can easily see how books and literacy helped me grow. Reading helped me to understand and appreciate forms of writing from a very early age.. I’ve learned to value books and whatever wisdom they held within their two covers. I learned to see the meaning or reason why a certain part of a book was written. I can very easily read what is happening “between the lines,” as some people say. Reading gave me this ability, which I cherish with all my heart.

Now that I am closing on my seventeenth birthday, I still read every now and then, but I’m no longer that little kid that was obsessed with books. Other things occupy my time, and some days I don’t even touch a book. I still retain my love for books and literacy though. If I find a book I haven’t read I’ll be busy until I read the last word. I also can still look at things in life and appreciate the literacy held within it. I doubt anything could happen that would take away my love for books and literacy.

Advanced Essay #1: Impatient for Patience

Posted by David Roberts in English 3 · Block · A Band on
Intro

For this paper I really wanted the reader to understand and get a sense for my struggle with patience. I wanted to use scene that helped me to convey my struggle so that readers could relate to my problem. I am really proud of my scenes and the fact that they do help me to convey my struggle, although I should note that my reflection and main idea isn’t the strongest. I don’t know what I could do to improve it now, but that is definitely an area for improvement.

I sit down at the dining room table, with my brother across from me, to start a game of monopoly. I always suck at this game. I can never get enough properties to win and I always make the wrong trades. Just a week before I traded away my railroads for a monopoly while I playing with my mom. She won on that trade alone. Live and learn, you know?

But this time will be different. I just know it. It’s like when you walk out the door to school and part of you just knows that the day ahead won’t be enjoyable. I just knew that something was gonna happen, and I wouldn’t have to go bankrupt again.

I shake with excitement as the first dice rolls happen.

“You sure you want to do that,” I say as my brother tries to roll doubles to get out of jail instead of paying.
 “Sure thing bro,” he responds as he roll doubles.

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

This is how the beginning of the game goes. I manage to get more properties than he does, but his excessive landing on free parking and go give him two or even three times the amount I have. Even though properties are better to have in the early game than money, his stock of two less properties doesn’t make a difference.

“Welp, this is bad,” I murmur to myself. I need a plan, and I need one fast.

I look around the room as my brother rolls. The nice chandelier hanging from the middle of the room. The cabinet at the far end of the room. I look toward a painting hanging over my brother’s head. A gray boat sits on a peaceful lake. The women on the boat wait patiently for the fish to bite on their fishing poles.

If I am just as patient as them, and not rush, I will be fine. If those women get anxious, they won’t catch any fish. In the same way, if I get excited and anxious, I’ll make a mistake and lose the game.

Soon after, I make a well thought about trade to secure one side of the board. I now own that whole side, the most lethal side.

For the next couple of times around the board, my brother seems to only land on those properties. With my money growing and my brother’s shrinking, I know that this could be the turning point.

“Oh boy, here we go,” I think to myself as I crack a smile.

Throughout my entire life, I have struggled with patience. It is not one of my natural abilities. For example, I really wanted to win that monopoly game. I always get so excited when I play those type of games that my lack of patience often comes back to kill me.

When I was a lot younger, it was worse. I couldn’t wait for anything. When I was done shopping, I was done and I let my parents know it, often throwing fits until they agreed with me. These examples of my impatience are evident throughout my toddler and preteen years.

My grandparents loved to take me fishing. They had a campsite on a lake and I would go and stay with them for a week during the summer. My grandpa introduced me to fishing when I was eight. At first I loved it. The idea of catching a fish sounded amazing to my young, inexperienced mind. But I learned otherwise. I couldn’t stand fishing, and catching a fish didn’t help to improve my mood. I just didn’t have the patience to sit around all day waiting for some dumb fish to take the bait. I stopped fishing soon after.

My attempt at fishing helped me to recognize that I wasn’t as patience as I thought I was. It rocked my world. But after I thought about it some more, I realized something. For my entire life I have been athletic. I’ve been on championship soccer and baseball teams for most of my childhood. My parents have often said that I’m just naturally athletic. But I’m not naturally patient.

It suddenly hit me that I wanted to be someone that I wasn’t. I wanted to be better than myself. Like me and my struggle for patience, everyone is not born perfect. Everyone has the desire to be better than themselves, to grow and mature in many different areas. For me, that was patience. I really would love to be patience, and I’m sure there are many other people who want to grow, just like me. We all have our certain struggle, it’s human. But we have to at least try. Because if none of us try, the world wouldn’t be like it is today.


"Let's Agree to Disagree" LoTF Essay, David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in English 2 · Pahomov · C Band on
Let's Agree to Disagree

People will often follow or worship something that they believe in or have respect for, whether that may be a person or thing. In some cases, that thing might be a symbol. A symbol that stands for something someone believes in. In that case, everyone else who believes in that same idea will be connected or joined in their beliefs for that thing. However, there will always be a group of people that is against that belief. Therefore, while bringing people together, symbols in society, at the same time, also divide people into groups that often hate each other.

Many symbols exist in society that prove this exact point. Human creations like religion and cults use symbols to accompany their beliefs, which often become focal points in their worship. Looking at the most popular religion of Christianity, the cross that is most often thought of when thinking of this religion brings many a people together under it. Christians worship God as well as this cross and honor it as a token to their religion. Christians seem to be united under this symbol. On the other hand, those who disagree with this worldview, have come to disrespect or even hate this symbol. It symbolizes something they believe to be false and therefore are united with others who also disagree. These two unified groups of Christians and non Christians are divided in their beliefs. The cross brings those who respect and those who disrespect it together with those who share their beliefs, while simultaneously dividing those two groups of people.

Not only does religion show the power of symbols. As demonstrated in the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, symbols also play a role in an imaginary society. In the book, a group of boys is stranded on an island. They start out as one group, but after two leaders emerge, Ralph and Jack, the one encompassing group is broken into two. After Jack’s crew and Ralph’s crew split, Piggy, who is Ralph's advisor, discusses the idea of taking the conch to Jack, with the hope that Jack will release his possession of Piggy’s glasses. “You let me carry the conch, Ralph. I’ll show him the one thing he hasn’t got (171).” The conch has become a very powerful symbol. It was used in the beginning to show leadership and authority, and therefore Piggy has the idea to use the conch to show Jack “what’s what.” Piggy’s original plans involve retrieving his glasses from Jack, and Piggy wants to use the conch to show that he is more powerful and people should obey him, and therefore giving him a greater chance of obtaining his glasses. The fact that Piggy then takes the conch, “with pride,” confirms the idea that whoever has the conch is to be respected. However, when confronting Jack with the conch, Jack’s crew started to throw stones at Piggy and the conch. Looking at this whole event, we can see that, while bringing Piggy, and his friends together against Jack and his group, the conch divided Piggy’s crew from Jack and his crew.

This is not the only example that is presented in the book. Earlier, when the two groups were in their early stages of separation, someone reported the sighting of a beast within the forest. Now, one company took this report as a serious threat, and everyone within it began to fear this beast, even though there was no confirmation. The other gang wasn’t so sure of this report. “Well then—I’ve been all over this island. By myself. If there were a beast I’d have seen it. Be frightened because you’re like that—but there is no beast in the forest (83).” Half of the boys believed this report, and half of them rejected it. This beast goes on to become a symbol of fear in the boys makeshift society. As time goes on, most of the boys adapted to view this theory as truth. There are still a few boys that didn't believe this beast to be true. Simon, one of Ralph’s band, is one of those boys. "I'll go if you like. I don't mind, honestly. (117)" Simon still believes this beast to be fictional, and shows this when he volunteers to go into the forest for the rest of the boys. After this event, and others like it, Ralph’s club starts to doubt this beast’s existence. Jack’s party remains in their beliefs that this beast’s presence is no lie. This beast figure has become a symbol that has unified the boys, but, at the same time, divided them in their view on its reality.

Shifting the view away from that of the fictional world, another non fictional symbol fits this puzzle. Pepe the Frog, or just Pepe, after being taken from the comic series Boy’s Club by Matt Furie, has blown up as a popular internet meme. After the internet enjoyed these memes for a time, Pepe started to be hated. Pepe was taken out of proportion and now remains in the Anti-Defamation League’s list of hate symbols. Pepe the Frog has become a symbol for those of the white supremacy group. As with every symbol, there are people who agree with it and disagree with it. In this way, those who are with this white supremacy group respect this symbol, and those who are against it loath it for what it stands for. Those groups of people are, while unified with others in their point of view, are divided from the other side because of their different beliefs.

Symbols can play many roles in society, one of them being their unifying qualities. Many symbols often stand for something like a religion or an idea. Those who use this symbol to show their own views will respect and honor their created symbol. Those who decide that this symbol contains no truth or disagree with what it stands for, have no respect or care for this symbol. Therefore, symbols that stand for something in society, both unify those who agree with it and disagree with it, but yet divides those two groups in their beliefs on the subject.


Works Cited:

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
"Pepe the Frog." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Mar. 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.
"Christian cross." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar. 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.

Common Ground: Global Heritage by James Burns

Posted by David Roberts in Spanish 2 · Hernandez · B Band on
1. N Front St. & Duncanno Ave.
2. This mural reveals that our community is very diverse. Many people are from many different places. This also reveals that we should be proud of our heritage, and that we should be united in our heritage.
3. There are maps of Australia, South America, and Eastern Asia found on this mural. Also, the quote "Do not throw away the hero in your soul." is also found on this mural.
4. A reason that this is significant to the community is that the community is very diverse and people should on to and cherish their heritage.
A-Common-Ground-The-Global-Heritage-Mural-by-James-Burns-Photo-credit-Jack-Ramsdale-300x150
A-Common-Ground-The-Global-Heritage-Mural-by-James-Burns-Photo-credit-Jack-Ramsdale-300x150

Family VS Career

Posted by David Roberts in English 2 · Pahomov · C Band on
https://soundcloud.com/david-roberts-316653325/family-vs-career

Just because someone has a lot of money or power doesn’t mean they should be above the law, sir. No one is above the law.

(Dialogue Pause)

I don’t care. He has committed two different crimes, murder and corruption, both of which deserve a long prison sentence, if not the death penalty. Sir, we know he did this. He abuses his own power, to try and get even more power, which in itself would get him in prison for a while, and then orders the death of not one but two people to cover it up. Even our leader would be happy to know that one of his advisor is trying to seize power from him.  

(Dialogue Pause)

We have the evidence, sir. We have the hitmen, all of whom have confessed to be hired by this guy. We even have obtained emails between our suspect and one of his own advisors talking about their plan. We have all the evidence we would need to arrest a regular citizen. But, because of his wealth and power, we have a different situation. We know that a reason he carried out his plan was because he knows that he had some protection. He knew that maybe his position would give him an advantage and would give him more time to hide his tracks. Now that has backfired. This reason makes him an even more likely suspect. Not a suspect, a criminal. Sir, we know what he did. We have a motive, and evidence that supports the motive and him as a criminal. The only thing that is preventing us now is his position.

(Non Dialogue Pause)

He’s also my brother-in-law.

(Non Dialogue Pause)

If only this criminal wasn’t part of my family. (Anguished scream) Why couldn’t this be anyone else. ANYONE! (Sigh) So I have to choose. My family, or my career. My family, or the law.

(Dialogue Pause)

He’s very respected within the family. Anyone of his position would be respected greatly. When he first came into the family, I too respected him. I admired him. But after uncovering this, I have lost all of my respect for him. As I see things, no one else knows about this. Not even his wife. And most of all, if they found out that I was accusing him of corruption and murder, man, you can’t imagine the backlash I would get. I would no longer be invited to family gatherings, I would probably be kicked out. Yes, I’m not exaggerating. That’s how much they love him. He brings great respect to my family. If people realized he got arrested, then everyone in my family would be rejected. They would become outcasts. And again, my family would blame that on me. And then I would be the outcast of the outcasts.

(Dialogue Pause)

I know sir. Eventually I have to choose.

(Dialogue Pause)

Yes, life will go on. The world won’t stop moving.

(Dialogue Pause)

That’s a good point, sir. Once my family got over their bias, and saw the truth, I would be worshipped. I would be praised. I would get the respect that he got. I would be admired. But, I still need a plan. A marvelous plan. A spectacular plan.

(Non Dialogue Pause)

What if we set him up? What if we caused him to think that he was being uncovered, and we got him to think that doing this one thing would get him out of that. We could catch him in the act. Maybe I could even set it up so that my family is there to see his wrongdoing. I could solve two things at once.

(Non Dialogue Pause)

I don’t know. Everyone would probably dismiss anything. I would still be rejected by my family, too. I guess there’s no way around that, if I decide to carry out my plan and arrest this idiot.

(Non Dialogue Pause)

I don’t really like my family anyway.

Burgers and Business - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in English 2 · Pahomov · C Band on

I knew what was coming. My brother had to go through the same process last summer, and now it was my turn. I knew what I had to do and I was not excited to go through that now. It had taken my brother more than twenty online applications to finally get a call back from a local Dunkin Donuts to receive a job. For once, I wished I was younger.

My parents started bugging me after the start of the last quarter of school. I knew this was going to be hard, especially because of my age. Many of the local companies don’t hire until sixteen, and I was only fifteen. But when my mother called the local McDonald’s and was told that they hired at fifteen, I submitted an online application immediately. I went into the restaurant, and was hired on the spot.

My first day happened just as any other first day would go. Words cannot describe how anxious I was. I started off doing drive-through work, but I eventually moved on to do other things. I have done the register at the front counter, and I have even made some people’s sandwiches. After a while, I got over my anxiousness. Now the only thing I worry about is how to make my shift end the fastest.

I do not have a good relationship with one of the supervisors. Every time I have a shift, she seems to be grumpy, and I don’t know why. I remember one incident. I was doing my job of taking orders at the front counter, and she told me to sweep and mop behind that front counter. Now, there was a line of people waiting to have their order taken and yet she still asked me to clean. I did what I was told, even though I disagreed with her.

She was, in my opinion, abusing her abilities as a supervisor. She was ordering me around to do stuff, even when it was busy and I was needed where I was supposed to be. She then often gets agitated that people aren’t working fast enough.

After talking with my father later, I came to the conclusion that her position was going to her head, the power she had access to as a supervisor was overcoming her. Now, in order to earn the rank of supervisor in the McDonald’s hierarchy, one has to work for a time and thus receive a promotion. Now, this particular supervisor is younger than most other supervisors, meaning that she probably has been working there since she was not much older than I am. She’s been working there since her late teens, which is my guess, and is now a supervisor.

My whole point is, she obviously did not care about school. If she worked hard and studied, I would not be making this point, and she would have a better job somewhere fancy. In an indirect way, my supervisor has shown me what life is like when someone who doesn’t stay in school. She has helped me to finally see a reason to care about school and work hard. I don’t want to be working with her or be stuck with a job at McDonalds for the rest of my life.

Getting a job has done more than just teach me things. I get paid $7.50 an hour, and receive the payment every other Friday. Since I am a minor (which is 15 and under) and can only work a certain number of hours, I’m not pulling in pots of gold. At first, small checks like the ones I get don’t look like much, but over time, that money can grow. I’ve been working for a little over three months and have made close to a thousand dollars.

Most teenagers don’t want to get jobs. And yet complaining about how they are not treated like adults is common. Getting a job is a step up. One gains much responsibility, and also learns things relevant to his or her future. One can also mature greatly through this process, just like I have.

I have learned what it’s like to work. I therefore had a small taste of actual adulthood, which is more than most teenagers. I don’t work as much as most adults do, but working twenty hours a week is still a lot. I have also taken on a lot more responsibility, which always helps one mature. But, with responsibility comes freedom. Which is my pay check. Getting this job, in my opinion, has official started my growth into adulthood.

U2 #8 - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in Technology - Freshman - Hull - b1 on

In class we watched a show by Frontline called Digital Nation and Growing Up Online. The show was about how the Internet is becoming more of a part of our lives and how it influences us, our jobs, and our military. The most memorable thing about this show is the story about Ryan and how he committed suicide because of the things that people said about him online. It was very interesting and scary to see how something so useful like the internet can be used in so many bad ways. It is important to watch shows like this so that we do not have to repeat the things that happened and so we can prevent things like this from happening. As of now, I do not know how I am going to protect my future family for a simple reason. Since technology is progressing SO fast, I do not know what to expect from the internet and technology in general twenty years from now. But I do know that I will be monitoring all internet usage. The internet is a very dangerous thing. Even though the internet can be very helpful in more than one circumstance, it can be used for many bad purposes. Some advice I would give to parents is to make sure their kids are not involved in anything suspicious. Also I would advise them to make sure their children know about all of the dangers of the internet.


Image result for internet

My Revised Slide - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in Technology - Freshman - Hull - b1 on
Me Slide
I change a good bit of things on my slide. I removed my name because that took op too much room in the slide. I removed my fake images and found real ones on google. I made sure that the color of the word and the picture still matched. I used the rule of thirds to place my picture in their own third of the slide. I cornered the words "Science" and "Athletic" and made sure the spacing was symmetric. I centered the word "Technology". I put the words on top of the pictures that they corresponded with. I made my slide simple and to the point. My last slide was cramped with my name and the words and now I have changed that. 

Me Slide - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in Technology - Freshman - Hull - b1 on
Who Am I- (1)
​ For my Me Slide, I chose to pick the three main things that define me. Those three things are Technology, Science, and Sports. Technology is a big part of my life because I love computers and really advanced technology and Sci-fi films. Science is a big part of my life because I want to go in the realm of science for my profession. Sports are a big part of my life because since before I can remember, I have been playing sports. 
I chose to make images for each of the three things. I made the font color and image color the same. I did this because humans like patterns and relationships between things. I made the background white and the font color things that stand out to promote contrast. I put few words on the slide so it is easy for ya'll to read. I let the images bleed off the side of the slide because humans like it too. 

Proyecto E1 U1 David, Turbo, Leah, Ayala

Posted by David Roberts in Spanish 1 - Manuel - C on
Situation #1 - Lunch
In Spanish, we learned how to order food and ask for checks. In this video, Leah and Ayala go out for lunch. David is their waiter. 
​Situation #2 - The Weather
In Spanish, we learned how to say what the weather is like. In this scene, David is the weather reporter. He describes the weather for the upcoming week. 
​Situation #3 - Spelling Bee
In Spanish, we learned how to pronounce the letters of the alphabet. In this scene, Leah and David go head to head in spelling bee. Find out who wins!

​Situation #4 - Birthday Invitation
In Spanish, we learned how to say months, dates, and birthdays. In this scene, Ayala asks Turbo and David to come to her party. She when each of their birthdays are!

Learning About Bullies - David Roberts

Posted by David Roberts in Technology - Freshman - Hull - b1 on
Stop Pic
Stop Pic
Today in Tech class, we watched a very sad video. A kid, by the name of Jack, was being bullied at school. Then, after watching the video, we googled ourselves. We had to reflect on what we saw. With the topic of bullying in mind, this video brings to mind how many people are bullied and how many people people see bullying and then do nothing to stop it. This happens a lot all over the world. When I googled myself, I did not find anything about me. Throughout my life, I have not put anything about me online. This is why I did not find about myself. Since there is nothing online about me, there is not a lot of things to perceive me as. One thing we learned about is trolls. The goal of internet trolls is to make people hate themselves. To make people's days miserable. Trolls love it when they make people mad. The positive things about anonymity is that you do not have to give away your personal information and put it on the internet. The negatives of anonymity is that you do not know who is behind that screen name. It could be anyone. You just don't know. 

My Home Network, David

Posted by David Roberts in Technology - Freshman - Hull - b1 on
This is my home network. Since my ISP is Verizon, my internet goes through a fiber cable to my modem/router. Through Wi-fi my internet goes to five computers, three tablets, a printer, a smart phone, and a Wii. That is my home network. I learned that there were so many things that had to happen before that page you clicked on could be revealed to your sight. The OMG moment was when we watched that corny video on the internet process. I would tell people that there is so much behind the scenes action to what happens when someone serfs the internet. To really understand the internet, you have to understand all that behind the scenes action first. 
My Home Network (2)
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