Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. Pokemon Go...your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?

   I am not playing. I do, in fact, know what it is. Pokémon has never particularly interested me, and my mom has always believed in it's demonic properties, so I never played. I'm also a little concerned with the safety and security of the game. I've heard many bad things about it, so even if I had the opportunity, I don't believe I would play.
   One thing I enjoy about this whole thing is how fired up people are getting. I've read several hate articles about how Pokémon Go is the 'zombie apocalypse' or something like that. People are always depressed in people. I can understand that, because I get depressed in people too, sometimes. Pokémon Go is just another faze among society. Just like planking, twerking, Ebola fear mongering and the cinnamon challenge, it'll be over and another stupid thing will replace it before you even know it was gone.


 2. What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection? If you're a parent what's something your own children collected? Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a 'collectible'?

   I'm still a kid, technically, and I currently collect playing cards. I love cards, and enjoying playing, so it's a fun thing to collect. I still have that collection, and I'm still collecting. Recently, my friends brought me back a pack of cards with 53 different pictures of national parks and landmarks from their vacation. How cool is that?
   I have never camped out, stood in a line (aside from the grocery checkout at Walmart) or paid more than a few dollars for any collectible.


 3. "Collect moments, not things"...tell us about a moment you've added to your collection this summer.

   Swimming with my best friends, twice so far this summer. I've been swimming several hours every day this week, and my hair is not a fan of pool water. Swimming with them is super fun. It's an enjoyable experience and we make a lot of memories together.


 4.  What's something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?

   My new school books are sitting in the homeschool closet, collecting dust, waiting for them to be used so very soon. I'm quite excited. I do plan on doing something about it; starting school and using them everyday for both my education and my personal enjoyment.


 5. A favorite song relating to time?

   Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day is the only one I could think of that related to time, in any sense.


 6. What's been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?

   I had never seen a bear in person until Monday night. I was driving home from my grandparents (we had been swimming) when a momma bear started across the road with three little fuzz balls for cubs. Another car was coming from the opposite direction with their high beams on, so I couldn't see very well, being blinded by the headlights and everything.
   Even if I couldn't see the bears very well, it was still kind of cool to see what I saw of them. Bears are slightly odd looking animals. I think their legs are a little too long. I don't know. Is this just me?


 7.  On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?

   I would go, if I had the opportunity, just because I think it would be the coolest thing ever. Aside from the radical awesomeness of stepping on the moon, I think space travel is an incredible waste of money. Why? Because we know more about the surface of Mars than we know about the ocean floor. Our ocean. The one on earth. The one we can go to at a lesser cost with much less has. This planet already has both water and intelligent (though I sometimes doubt this) life.
   Why do we need to search for somewhere else? If we spent the money we waste on space travel on helping to keep this planet alive and well, we would have a MUCH better planet than a planet with some more data on Mars. Maybe I'm understanding this wrong, but I think that we could be doing many more powerful works with the trillions wasted on space exploration, until we discover everything there is to know about our planet, first.


 8. Insert your own random thought here.

   I recently got a new pair of ear buds on sale for 4 bucks at Walmart. I went home, took them out of the package, and plugged them in. I turned on one of my favorite songs and listened. The sound quality wasn't the best, but I wasn't upset. They were only $4, so I wasn't out much.
   Then more of the song progressed and I realized a very shady fact about those ear buds. The lead vocals were missing! It was the background music and background vocals! I found this hysterical, and I went and showed Mom. She also found this funny. I went to show my brother, but when he used them, the lead vocals came in without a problem.
   While I was glad they worked, I couldn't help but be a little saddened when I realized they were normal ear buds, just like my other pairs. Oh well. It was an experience, to say the least. And with that under my belt, I believe I would buy a pair of ear buds that I knew didn't play the lead vocals. It's actually sort of cool, plus you can sing along with just the band behind you.