Strange Pumpkin

I came across this pumpkin while visiting my friends house one day and I was shocked by how peculiar (and cute) it was. I'm not sure if you can see it with this picture, but this pumpkin actually looks like two pumpkins that were merged together. When I asked my friend how this pumpkin became like this, he said that it was a pumpkin that was about to split apart, but got cut off the vine before it had the chance to. Pumpkins reproducing by splitting apart was so bizarre to me that I had to go Google it. I went through many websites about how to plant pumpkins and pumpkin diseases, but I couldn't find any explaining how and when a pumpkin reproduced by splitting apart. The closest I got were two pictures, this one my friend took and put on his website http://randomnessgame.weebly.com/index.html, and one on a website called Garden Tales http://gardentales.areavoices.com/, that also has many more funny deformed plants.  

One or Two?

I was writing a paper when I needed to use the word rollercoaster. Spell check corrected my "misspelling" and told me it was roller coaster. Two words. This interested me, so I searched the spelling of rollercoaster or roller coaster online. Their seemed to be about the same amount of people who thought rollercoaster was spelled with one word than people who thought roller coaster was spelled with two.

So, my question is, is rollercoaster/roller coaster spelled with one word or two?

Sometimes Behaves So Strangely

During lunch one day I was listening to a Radiolab podcast I downloaded and I thought it was so... I don't know. I really don't know, but it was definitely extremely interesting. I know that's not saying much because all Radiolab podcasts are interesting, but this one just stood out. Especially the beginning of this one. Just the first 10-15 minutes of it.
Here is the link to it: http://www.radiolab.org/2007/sep/24/behaves-so-strangely/

Gifted

The gifted program. What do you think about it? Do you like it, support it, or do you dislike it and think its bad? I was listening to a radiolab podcast and in it was a guy who disliked gifted program thought that it was labeling the smart students from the bad ones, but  I didn't notice this in my school. I really support gifted programs; I really think it helps Gifted children think and learn. I remember my 7th grade gifted teacher helped my find the best way for me to study after I got a C on a test. After that I always got A's in her class. She was probably my all-time favorite teacher ever.

The thing is, other than the argument about the labeling issue, what's so bad about the gifted program?

Secrets of Success (Radiolab Podcast) - http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2010/jul/26/secrets-of-success/

Creative Writing

So today, I was thinking and doodling with a Sharpie when a poem just came to me. I really quite like it because it is really funny to me and I never really knew I could write poems. It went like this

Happy Days

Happy days
form in ways
I don't
understand

Happy days
are the same
as one
old friend

Happy dayps
are happy days
no matter
what you say

So don't ruin
my happy day
and do
what I say!

I don't know what inspired this poem because that day was neither a day I was very happy about nor a day I where really wanted someone to do something for me.

Life At Princeton

A few weeks ago, I stayed with my sister at Princeton University. At Princeton you can't help but be inspired to learn. The students, the architecture, and especially the professors make a perfect learning environment. At Princeton I listened to lectures about Neuroscience, Psychology, and Organic Chemistry. Although I didn't fully understand the Organic Chemistry lecture, I could still mostly follow the lecture and the material the students learn is great! Still, taking neat notes in chemistry is challenging and I have no idea how my sister does it. At Princeton, I also watched my sister do a Chemistry Lab, and I swear it is just like watching someone do potions in Harry Potter. You have to get your prodect and mix it in with Hexans two times, making sure you release the pressure so your contianer doesn't explode, Then you have to make sure you get the hexans out, but keep your product. You have to cool your product, heat your product, even measure the acidity level of your product. I can't say life at Princeton isn't hard, but it certainly is pretty amazing. No wonder why Princeton is one of the most liked schools in America.

The Most Extraordinary Ordinary

Water. A thing we see everyday in our life. Ice. Another thing we see everyday... well almost everyday. But have you ever thought about how strange ice are water are? I mean ice is the only thing that floats in its solid form. Like butter sinks in melted butter and like copper would sink in liquid copper. Ice, it floats! I know it has something to do with water's structure, but i just don't understand it. I mean when water becomes ice, the density changes from about one to 0.92. I think it has something to do with the water expanding when it freezes, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts?

The Dreamer

"How is it, when we dream we do all three the same time? We write, direct, and watch the film as if we've never seen it before."

So, I was watching this hour long podcast and second half  of it just made me realize like... i don't know. It was the story of a dreamer. A dreamer having a extremely interesting dream. And although radiolab can tell this story much better, I'll summarize it for you people who don't have the time (you can listen to it at http://www.radiolab.org/2007/may/07/  and can just skip to the second half which is right after 30 minutes):

A young man, the dreamer, had traveled a lot to get away from his evil father came back to realize his father had married a new wife. Neither wanted to talk to each other, but they agreed to meet on a sandy beach. They got in an argument and the dreamer killed his father in the fight. He then went home to live with a different person. No one suspected that the dreamer had killed his father. One day he saw the person he was living with go to the train station, so he followed her. The girl went to the very place the dreamer killed his father and looked for evidence.The dreamer ducked behind a bush and saw her pick up a vital piece of evidence. It might have been from shock or from something else, but she sliped and was yelling for someone to save her. Without thinking, the dreamer saved her and they stood face the face with the evidence in between them. A few days later, while the girl was out, the dreamer looked around for that piece of evidence. When he finally found the evidence, all he could this of was ,"If she had such a important piece of evidence, why hasn't she used it yet. Then, with the dreamer still holding the evidence, the girl walked back into her room. There they stood again eye to eye with the piece of evidence between them. Soon after the dreamer heard talking in the girl's room.
"What happened? A robbery!"
"No, I'm quite ashamed actually, I thought I lost something."
The very next morning the dreamer asked the girl why she was keeping the evidence when she knew everything. The girl threw her hands up and exclaimed, "Do you not understand? I love you." And then the dreamer woke up.

I don't think my dreams have ever been so ... good, but this was the dream of  a real person. The strange thing is that while we are dreaming our minds are making this story, directing it, and watching it like we hadn't ever seen it before. Now, how does that work?