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From
the Labs...
Cutting Edge Technology
By Josh Desmarais
As with last month, there really has not been
very many goings-on in the world. At least, there has been nothing
that would interest the general public, which this editorial is
rather directed to. However, some more incorporeal developments
have surfaced during the short period of time between now and
last issue.
Not surprisingly, in order to compete with the already well-established
and considerably successful Xbox Live service, Sony has recently
announced its intentions on creating a similar online service
for its PlayStation 3. Sony has named this as a “full frontal
assault” on Xbox Live, and while this is all well and good as
far as talk goes, it is, of course, nothing until it actually
comes into play.
The fight for human rights has been around since what could conceivably
be called the beginning of time. It has been fought on multiple
frontiers – in law, government and in all the new forms of media.
Of course, given that last sentence, one would be foolish not
to consider the internet as one of these new forms of media. Data
mining from e-mails is only one of the many acts taken against
online privacy – recently, search lines and results have been
used in court cases as evidence against their searcher. Of course,
this is all well and good – using searches such as “neck,” and
“snap” against a man who had recently murdered his wife is not
objectionable. The issue is the stopping point, and with recent
changes in laws, citizens are a bit concerned about the whole
ordeal, especially some in the United States, where the Patriot
Act caused a bit of an uproar post-9/11. In a similar vein, recently
in the United Kingdom, the English High Court ordered several
ISPs (internet service providers) to reveal the identities of
over 100 alleged file-swappers. The rulings that are to come from
the cases with result in either a lawsuit or prison sentences
of up to two years along with unlimited fines. In an amusing-yet-still-related
subject, the RIAA has recently made an attempt to sue a woman
who had never come in contact with a computer throughout the entirety
of her life.
With the advent of planet-in-question 2003 UB313, the planetary
status of both Pluto and UB313 may well be at stake. This is,
of course, because the recently discovered hulk of ice and rock
past Pluto is undeniably considerably larger than the tiny, esoteric
planet. Supporters of the glorified asteroid clamor that if the
puny Pluto is considered a planet, then it logically follows that
UB313 should also be considered one, or, at the very least, both
should not be called planets. This might actually not be too far
off from the truth, because, as of late, astronomers have discovered
a sort of outer asteroid belt past Pluto – they both may well
be Kuiper Belt objects. Simply said, they’re both basically distant
space debris. Pluto, however, does have one merit for it – unlike
UB313, it actually has a bit of an atmosphere.
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Headlines
National Signing Day
Brings VC Athletes to the Table
On Wednesday, February 1, four stars of Valley Christian’s four-time
CCS championship football team committed as a group to San Jose
State University. After weeks of deliberation, Danté
Perez, Mark Piethe, Dominique
Hunsucker, and Bryan North made the
decision to join the 2006 Spartan football team. All received
scholarship offers from several different schools; each evaluated
his options and concluded that SJSU had the most to offer in all
areas. The boys have become a part of the changing Spartan football
program and are excited to see what this experience holds for
them as they pursue their football careers.
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Read More
Homicide at Skyway
Campus
When Anatomy and Physiology students entered their classroom on
January 30, they were shocked to see a “dead” man on the floor.
The man was laying lifeless, surrounded by bottles, blood spatters,
and a knife. According to Mr. Doug Canepa, the
murder had taken place earlier that morning, and there were five
suspects, one of which was not able to be located.
After getting the basic information from Mr. Canepa, the students
got to work. Each had designated responsibilities to attend to.
The first job was to document the crime scene. Using skills learned
over the course of the unit, students collected valuable information,
took photographs, and collected evidence. “Collecting the evidence
was fun. It’s not really like the CSI shows on television, the
process is a lot slower, and we had to wear ugly hair nets and
gloves,” said senior Maricela Galaviz.
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More
Father-Daughter Dance
Coming
Have you ever wished that you could go to the Academy Awards or
Grammy’s? Well now is your chance. Mr. Nardi’s 2005-2006 Leadership
class is diligently working to prepare one of the greatest Father
Daughter Dinner Dances. This high-end event will be held in Valley’s
very own large gym from 6:30 until 10 pm on March 11. The theme:
A Night On the Red Carpet will include an elegant arrival setup,
a full dinner arrangement, entire dance floor, and an awards ceremony.
The cost will be $40 per couple before the event, and $50 at the
door. Although this evening is a Valley Christian High School
event, the junior high is also being invited. Likewise, you, too,
are given the opportunity to invite some girls outside of school,
such as church friends. It is going to be a lot of fun, so do
not hesitate from bringing anyone you would like.
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More
Rugby Makes a Name
for Themselves
The Valley Christian rugby club has competed in its
first two matches of the 2006 season. This under nineteen’s league
has the Warriors facing opponents well beyond the typical high
school athlete.
College Park was the first team to challenge the Warriors. As
opposed to the regular halves of thirty-five minutes each, this
was both teams’ first scrimmage at fifty minutes total. College
Park due to it under nineteen rule is made up of mainly the hated
Bellarmine Bells, respectfully hated of course. Down the skyway
hill, the teams met on February 4 at Rolling Rock Park, a neighborhood
park in community surrounding Valley Christian. The early afternoon
(kick off) started the thirty-man battle to jump on the first
‘try.’ Remember that ‘tries’ can be compared to a touchdown in
American football yet are worth five points. They are scored by
not just reaching the goal but by touching the ball down into
the try zone. Due to the location, the two point conversion kicks
could not be taken because there were no field goal uprights;
these would follow all tries.
- Read
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