~SAT Prep Essay~ Section 1, Test 2

Ok, say you have to write a five page research paper for one of your college courses, and it is due tomorrow. Say that you write a good fast 30 words per minute by hand. If you write say 70 words per minute by typing, how much faster will you get the paper done by typing it rather than writing it by hand?

This is only one example of how technology aids us in our everyday lives. Technology makes our life better by speeding up the process in which we do certain things technology aids us in. Some of the ways in which this can happen can be defined through these categories: Communication, office work, entertainment, schoolwork, etc...

The way in which communication can be advanced by technology is in the Internet. A computer with Internet connection can access e-mail, chats, or online blogs. All these aspects of the Internet can allow two people to communicate messages, and thoughts by typing what one intends to say down, and sending it to the other person, thus communicating via Internet.

The speed in which office work can be completed can be greatly enhanced through the result of technology. There are various computer programs that can produce pre-made graphs and organizers, such as Microsoft Excell, which allows you to access a pre-made spreadsheet with the click of a button. The calculator can also make easy calculations so you don't have to spend you time figuring out the answer yourself. These are only a few ways in which the speed of office-work can be accomplished.

Entertainment can be accessed by the simple touch of an icon on your computer. This is much quicker than going out somewhere to have fun, and it is also cheaper as well. Take solitaire for example, by just clicking a button, you have the access of a card game at your fingertips instead of going out for some bowling, much easier and cheaper I would say.

Writing for your school assignment, you can see that using computers to type your paper is a much more efficient way than writing it out by hand. The computer can also help you with your schoolwork by providing you with billions upon billions of pages stock full of research in almost every subject you could think of. If you have a study need, go to the internet for help.

These are only some of the ways in which technology has made our lives much easier and more enjoyable. Technology allows us to have more free time since we get things done faster doing it. It is definitely more of a help than a hindrance to our lives.

~Concert Review~ Trans Siberian Orchestra Winter Tour 2007, Sommet Center, Nashville TN

If you are among the multitude of fans who crave holiday entertainment, 'do I gotta show for you': the Trans Siberian Orchestra Winter Tour 2007, held in the Sommet Center in Nashville TN. TSO is a mind blowing rock orchestra exuding the use of sights, sounds, lights, lasers, guitar solos, and pyrotechnics. It is an action packed experience full of incredible musicianship, stock full of old fashioned Christmas cheer, inlayed with a heartfelt message of hope and peace for the holidays. The whole family will enjoy it. It is certainly not your 'average' rock concert.

Trans Siberian Orchestra does what every band does in a concert. However, TSO is unique in so many ways from conventional bands in the world today. The show that TSO puts on contains visual aspects in a way that no one has ever used before. They take lights and lasers and make them dance around the room in sync with the music that is being played. In addition to some of the biggest lights and laser shows in the world, TSO also expertly uses pyrotechnics. Using these three different elements of visual satisfaction, they knit together one of the most amazing shows that could be performed. The music that springs from TSO's orchestra is phenomenal, sounding every bit like it does on their cds (a hard feat to accomplish while playing live). TSO puts their own spin on Christmas, echoing the reason for the season; they convey the Christmas message in an unorthodox way that makes TSO so unique and their shows so enjoyable. Everything that has been talked about can be summed up in this simple equation: Lights + Lasers + Fire + Music + Christmas Cheer = Trans Siberian Orchestra

Trans Siberian Orchestra performs a Winter Tour of the US every year, and I happened to attend the one that happened in the Sommet Center in Nashville Tennessee last year in 2007 that hosted 18,500 fans. Being in a hockey stadium enhances the experience as the lights seem brighter and more powerful, the sounds resonate throughout the seats, and the lasers seem as if they are targeting people in the stands as they wiz by in a dazzling display. The musical aspect of the concert was phenomenal as each individual instrument played its part in making the songs perfect, coaxing sweet music from their instruments, playing the powerful Christmas music that TSO is renowned for. Pyrotechnics were also an amazing addition to the show, as flames danced all around the performers.

The only downside to a TSO concert is that you might be that unlucky person who gets one of those stadium light aimed right in your eye, making you cry. Beyond the blindness or the deafness you feel for a few hours after the show, there are no downsides to a TSO concert. Both the performance and the music were superb; there’s not much more you could ask from a concert experience.

~The "Clo'Pen" Theorem~ Explainatory Editorial

~Outline~
-Introduction
-Define terms
-Open Theory
-Closed Theory
-Introduction of "Clo'Pen" theory
-Paragraph 2
-Statement/Introduction to "Clo'Pen" Theory
-Paragraph 3
-Detailed explaination of "Clo'Pen" theory
-How it works
-What it consists of -Paragraph 4
-Relation to the basis of reality a.k.a--God
-What is true
-What is not true
-Conclusion
-Statement of how "Clo'Pen" theory is a hybrid
-What it borrowed from the different theories
-This is the way i believe it to be

~Editorial~
The greatest minds of our universe have sought after and debated the mysteries of predestination and the Omniscience of God for centuries. These theologians will always be fighting whether the “open” or the “closed” theory of the Universe is the correct theory that everyone should embrace. The “Closed” theory consists of believing that God predestined man and that God is completely and totally omniscient. God knows our thoughts, our minds, and can overrule our freewill by knowing what we will choose before we act on it. The “Open” definition however, is completely the opposite of the closed. Open theists believe God only knows and determines specific things about the future. They believe that God is omniscient about all the past and the present, but HE does not know the future, it is unknowable and uncertain.
People have their own views about this theological topic; some might be completely open, or completely closed. Can a hybrid between the two be possible? This is my theory: a hybrid including ideals from both extremes of the argument. The “Clo’Pen” theory, otherwise known as the “Spider-Web” theory, is my invention.

Basically, the “Clo’Pen” theorem states that there is a massive framework of possible futures branching out from one starting point and continuing along a chronological timeline (thus the spider-web analogy) until it ultimately reaches the end result, “Revelation”. The ‘actual’ future is defined as highlighted strands of this web. The starting point of this framework is the creation of the Universe and all its contents. God, once he created man, gave man free will. From that point on, God did not know what man’s decisions would be. God only knew the ‘possibilities’ of what man ‘could’ choose; not what he ‘would’ choose. This pattern applies throughout the whole interpretive framework (that includes the future “highlighted”). Every small, minuscule and infinitesimal action or thought that anyone does, changes the future. Every possible choice that we have is (in a sense) a strand of the big web that is this framework. Every person is connected to this framework in some way or another. Whether they are alive or dead, they still affect the movement of the highlighted pieces of the framework that is the ‘actual’ future. Every other strand of web that is not highlighted was a possibility that could have been the future; it is not the ‘actual’ future.

God is omniscient in the case that he knows ‘everything’; that is that He knows every possible outcome there is. He knows by heart and sees every possible strand that there is in this ‘web’ or ‘interpretive framework’. What God doesn’t know is the ‘actual’ future which is the highlighted strands of the web. God knows the highlighted past and present; he knows the ‘actual future’ of both, but only after the 'actual' future was chosen by the person. What he doesn’t know is the ‘actual future’ of the future. He just sees the possibilities of the future, the strands of webs; he does not see them highlighted yet. These highlighted webs, or ‘actual’ future, become clear to him once one of the many possibilities have been chosen by the person. This is where our free will comes into view. This is what gives our decisions a uniqueness that are all our own, no one else knows what we will decide; that’s why they are ‘our’ decisions.

What the “Clo’Pen” theory takes from the “Closed” side of the argument is the idea that God knows every possible outcome that we can choose when making decisions that will change the future. It takes from the “Open” theory that we as humans have free choice and that God does not know our decisions until we decide them; he just knows all the possible decisions we ‘can’ make. These two factors from the opposing viewpoints are what make the “Clo’Pen” theory a hybrid cross between two extreme theological viewpoints. I strongly hold to the belief that the "Clo'Pen" theory is the most correct theory out there.