kobi's blog

Driver's License

2010-11-07T07:38:00.001-08:00

It is very common among teenagers to be extremely enthusiastic when getting a driver's license. By the time they reach the age of 17 they invest most of their money and time on getting this desired license. The privilege of being mobile in life and especially as a teenager is one I believe we should hold close to our chests.

Accidents happen and they will keep on happening. There is nothing we can do against it. This idea of raising the age for getting a driver's license is deceiving. Accidents happen not because of age and physical development. Accidents occur mostly because of drivers driving irresponsibly. This careless driving might evolve from their young age but I believe it mostly has to do with their character. They are reckless and careless people given a deadly weapon which someday will be misused and cause casualties.

Most of us would say that 17 is a quite young and maybe too young for a license and they are probably right. The catch is trying to find the right age. I can easily say that 19 is quite young as well. I don’t see much difference between a 19 year old guy and a 17 one on the road. They are both young and quite mentally immature. All I am saying is that the age doesn't make a difference in this business unless we are ready to bump the age limit to 20+.

To sum up, I believe that raising the age for a driver's license is not the necessary solution. Accidents will keep on happening with 19 and 20 year old people. When driving on the road, it all comes down to character, whether the driver gives to other drivers "right of way" (zhut kdima) or not. That is what will probably make the difference.

2010-09-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

The internet is defenatley one of the biggest and most revolutionary inventions of the 21st century. It caused such a major 180 degrees change in our way of life in such a short period. When I come to think of it, the interenet is so powerful and tempting that there is this slightest chance that it might become dangerous one day. The internet sure has its advantages that make it probably the most popular occupation in the world but it also has its downsides.

The internet is the leader of the revolution of information. Nowadays, I can go online, visit Wikipedia or make a small search in google and find tons of information about any subject I'd like.

This ability is one we must appreciate and be thankful to posses it and the internet is the leading and probably the main factor that led to it. Another advatage is connectivity. Today, I have the ability to talk to anyone in this world no matter where he is at and I have a wide variety of ways of doing that; From e-mail, facebook and twitter to MSN, Yahoo and Forums.

Having said only a handful of its advatanges, I'd like to realate to its disadvantages. I believe that the same way the internet can serve you in communications and information, the interenet is also a great way for major intelligence agencies or even small police departments to track you down and learn everything about you from your private conversations with friends through MSN and ICQ to more public ones like Facebook and Twitter. When it comes down to privacy, you will have to take into consideration that you will have none with the internet on-line.

Finally, the bottom line would be that the internet is, beyong any doubt, one of the most life changing revolutions that have ever occured in recent years. It brings with it magnificent tools that make our lives easier and richer but it also eliminates our pricacy. When it comes down to having an opinion, I believe the internet is a huge contibution to our society, a one we cannot dream of losing despite its disadvantages.

Writing Task #8

2010-09-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

Matriculation exams have always been an integral part of a regular high-school student's life. During the 3 years of high-school each student takes part of several exams in different subjects. Those tests are known for their cruelty and being treated as life changers. As a student who's taking part in these exams I am going to write whether those exams are reliable or not.

First of all, I would have to mention the fact that those tests are given a way bigger credit than they can hold. The fact that each year there appears to be a different level of difficulty on the same subject pisses me off. The whole point of the bagrut exams is to have a unit of measure and comparison between the students. In reality, it's not that simple. The fact that each year the difficultry changes can result way lower grades on one group of students and way higher grades on other group of older or younger students. That means that in the future, those younger or older students which got lucky to recieve a much easier test have a leverage on me later in life (university).

Second issue I want to attend to concerns the copyinh between students in the exams. Lost of it.

In times where the tester is too old to hear or see anything or whne he walks into the bathroom or simply a weaker minded woman that can't hold under pressure from the students and lets them copy. It happens quite frequently and it is very disappointing and irritating.

to sum up, I believe you you got my idea about those tests. I believe that in order to have a better measurement of comparison there should be a single big test that touches a wide variety of subjects and copying or cheating would result jail time. A similar idea would be the pshcymetri which is quite succesfull on filtering the weak and giving the tuly strong students many options.

Task #1

2010-09-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Magazine,

As a guy who likes both the sports and has never been until now 'forced' to choose between one of them, I believe both of them are great. Interesting, entetaining and enjoyable at the same time.

However, I can easily see that both of them have disadvatages and advatages. In fact, most of the time, the disadvatages of one are the advatages of the other.

I'd like to begin with the advatages of individual sports. Individual sports can often be more appealing to people who are new to sport thanks to the ease in wich they can start take part in them- Tennis, Ping Pong, Swimming etc. are very simple sports and take very short time to study. The other big advatage to invidiual sport is that either you succeed or fail, there is no one to blame but yourself. In other words, you are the one to be responsible for you own destiny and future. It can end up very well but it can also end up pretty disappointing- that depends on you.

The advantages of Indicidual Sports are the disadvatages of Team Sport. For example, say you want to get involved with a whole new kind of sport which includes a team, you will have to do tests and be accepted by this team, it will also take a lot of time to study that sport and for the occasional athletes, it is much tougher to play team sports such as basketball and football in a public court than go swim by yourself in the wimming pool. I would have to mention an important feature in team sports- they are much more fun than individual ones. You share a team of members that eventually become your friends. Much more fun to play, laugh and succeed with friends than on your own.

to sum up, I have mentioned the advantages of both these sports. I believe there is no 'better' sport. Those different types of sports suit different types of players. I personally believe that team sports are more enjoyable while invidual sports are more accesible.

2010-04-29T00:20:00.000-07:00

Kdoshey Kahir 8 St.
Holon 16806
April 29, 2010

Columbia University Board
8 Goerge Washington St.
New York, NY

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Tyler Durden, I am a fresh high-school graduate,(New sentence) I am mostly interested in pshycology and medicine in general. My wish is that before I begin with my studies, I just want to take a short and fun course on the subject (phr. - I would like to take a short course in psycology before beginning my studies) in order to fell(ww.) the actual learning experience.

I believe you wonder(gr.) why it is your university I am applying to. Well, I have heard many positive compliments(ww.) about the learning enviroment in the classes as well as the excellent staff. In addition, I have many friends currently studying there, (New sentence)I honestly feel I can contribute to the great enviroment surrounding your school and gain from it as well.

An issue I would like to mention concerns the actual class and topic. I would like to know more about the course you are offering. Who is teaching it, what is the subject it focuses on and more.

To sum up, I am really looking forward to start my studies here at your University. I am also expecting an answer from you as soon as possible, we wouldn't want all the open spots in the course to run out. Would we?(phr. - not appropriate in a formal letter)

Truly Yours,

Tyler Durden

I am sure you can do much better than that.

(78)

Daphna

2010-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

(8 Kdoshei Kahir st.
Holon)
April 22, 2010

See the World Travel Agency
(Street name and number)
(New York, NY)

Dear Sir/Madam,
/
Before I begin with the questions, I feel it is appropriate to introduce myself. My name is Tyler Durden, I currently live in Holon and plan to go on a trip with my girlfriend. I am 24 years old and work as an officer in the IDF army. I barely have any traveling experience, although I have been abroad quite a few times in my life. I have never actually traveled and went on 'adventures' abroad.

My interest, as you could have already understood, are mainly focused on adventurous trips that include walking, camping and basically connecting with nature. I believe that South America is an excellent option as well as the Far East. Those 2 places are the reason I am writing this letter. I have no clue or even a smallest detail(מיותר) on what is going on in these places. I believe you, as a CEO of a company designed to know such information, can help take the right decision and plan the perfect trip.
.
Another issue for me is the costs. I, along with my partner, have recently begun our lives. As you can imagine, we are very limited concerning the amount of funds we can invest in this trip. I strongly suggest you to take this issue into consideration when handing in your offer.
.
To sum up, I am very excited and looking forward to your reply. I have great expectations from this trip and I believe that with your company's helping hand, my partner and I will be able have an awesome trip.

Yours,
Tyler Durden

This is better. Well done.
(95)
Daphna

Fubar Ryan

2010-04-07T23:01:00.001-07:00

19 Sokolov St.
Holon
April 8th 2010

Station Manager
The Voice of Israel'
1 Mote Gur St.
Holon

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this letter because I wish to suggest a program which I though(sp.) of. I tend to call it 'The Lottery'. I believe this program has the potential to become(gr.- of becoming) a hit among teenagers around the ages of 15-17.

The program basically consists of a regular lottery in which a few songs are chosen out of hundreds. Each day there will be a different exclusive genre played. Every week will be dedicated to a different specific genre. For example, Sundays will play 'KISS' and Mondays will play 'Queen' and so on. The specific songs will be chosen by a lottery so every song has an equal chance for being played.

The program will make teenagers listen to it because of their expectations that their songs will be chosen. If not, they still have a wonderful full hour of listening to new songs and deepen their knowledge in music. The program will be delivered with some sense of humor to sweeten the listening experience even more. I believe this program can be educational as well. The broadcaster will explain throughout the program what happened to the specific band between different albums and educate the listeners about using drugs and how harmful they are (How are drugs related? You need to explain the connection).

That is pretty much my idea of the one-hour long program you plan. I am really looking forward for a program like this and I am sure it will attract many teenagers if managed well.

Sincerely Yours,
Fubar Ryan

I like it.
(97)
Daphna

Trip

2010-02-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

The Gadna's week purpose is to show what is waiting ahead for those 11th graders once they become 18 and join the army. Approximately 270 students from 11st classes(the 11th grade), and me between(ww.) them, went on to experience a once in a lifetime week. During those days we did a variety of actions, starting with cleaning the toilet and the kitchen and ending with firing a couple of rounds with the M-16 rifle. I can say in confidence that I wouldn't trade this experience with nothing(ww.).

We left school at the very morning of Sunday(phr.), heading for the camp located in Sde Boker, Negev. It couldn't be possible not to feel the exciement around the other students and the teachers as well. We, the students, fed ourselves up with enormous expactations and suprisingly we didn't get disappointed(phr.).

By the time we arrived, the commanding officer had introduced us to the staff and the base. We were divided into groups of 20 and started our week right after then(ww.). During that week we did(ww.) a wide variety of actions(ww.). We cleaned the kitchen and the toilets, did some running, made friends with the COs, talked about IDF's casualties all along the wars and on top of the(מיותר) that, we shot 11 rounds with the M16 "arocch" rifle. This was one of the best weeks I have ever had in my whole life.

To sum up, this experience has truly been remarkable. I've come to meet and befriend with students I've never seen before in my school and other students from other schools as well. I did get the general ideas aobut(sp. and ww.) what the army is all about and I feel I'm more preapred for it. Final thing to say(phr.), to all those young guys who are reading this- don't allow yourselves to miss this remarkable and unique week for nothing(phr.).

Not bad, for someone who hasn't actually been there....

(83)

Daphna.

A letter of complaint

2010-02-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

Where is the beginning of your letter? adress, date...?

(Dear Sir/Madam,)
I am writing this letter because I wish to complain about the poor and unsatisfying service I received in your hotel. The service I recieved completely contradicts all your promises according to your site and advertisements.

I would like to begin with the rooms and the meals. The second I entered my room I was astounded. The blankets were misorganized(ww.) and the toilets didn't smell clean, the TV didn't work well and the airconditioner pulled out heat(phr.- what do you mean?) instead of cold. I felt like the whole world was crashing on top of me. It was in this hotel that I finally realized the saying "The higher your expactations are the more you get(ww. - are) disappointed". I would also like to mention the meals. They weren't as bad as the rooms, but they weren't as good as what you led me to believe.

The second thing I would like to relate to in this letter is convincing me that your hotel was something more than what it really was. Deep in my heart I have the feeling I was literally conned by your website and advertising. I was led to believe completely diverted and untrue facts about the hotel.- what is your point in this paragraph?

To sum up, I feel I was disgraced and misled by you and your staff. I demand an immediate refund delivered to my account. Nowadays, I am seriously thinking over(ww. - about) taking legal actions against your hotel. Be advised, I am not planning to stop here and it's not the last time you'll hear from me.

Sincerely yours,

Kobi Tav

Better, but there are still a few problems, mainly in your phrasing. Please go over it again.

(82)

Daphna

I am the BEST

2010-01-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

15 Leaders of the Nation st.
05/02/2010

"Mada" Organization
1 Mote Gur st.
Holon, Israel

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to apply for the recently opened paramedic position.
As requested, I have all the official certifications and I personally believe I am perfectly suitable for this job. I succesfully passed CPR courses, I am a good student and I have the will to contribute and achieve. I am 17 years old and I am (an) 11th grade student in Kugel High-School.

I find this oportunity very interesting and challenging. I believe that this job will test my skills. I am a person who is attracted to challenges. Another reason for joining your ranks is the fact the I find the challenges offered very appealing. The fact that we help and support the sick and helpless really makes me feel like I am making a diffrence. This feeling is priceless to me.

One requirement that I lack, though, is experience in the field. I am barely 17 and I've never done anything like that, but I believe that my strive for exellence will compensate the shortages(ww. - my shortcomings). My skills also include working well under pressure and being detail oriented. Fitting in won't be a problem for me as well. I work well with a variety of people and have a good attitude and work ethic(s).

To sum up, I believe that what you are looking for and what I am looking for sound like a match(phr. - I would like you to rephrase this whole first sentence). I am patiently looking forward for a reply from you. I can also be reached at the numbers metioned at the bottom of the letter.

Sincerely yours,

Kobi Tavdish

052-1234567

This is better. Well done.
(95)
Daphna

Poland- Realistic or Imaginary?

2009-12-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

1 Mote Gur
Holon
December 3, 2009

Mrs. Gilat Simon
Kugel High-School Principal's Office
1 Mote Gur street
Holon

Dear Ms.Gilat Simon,

I am writing to you because I wish to complaign(sp.) about the requested price for the trip to Poland. I personally know a significant amout of students that wish to join the trip but can't afford the high costs.

On the one hand, you cliam that the trip to Poland is highly important and is a MUST for every student, but on the other hand, the price you name is way beyond what most students can afford. The trip's duration is 8 days. I think that if I go by myself I will pay much less than the price you name. Because of all that, I am starting to believe that, maybe, the trip isn't organized and planned efficiently enough. I truly believe that if you really want to help you can pull some strings and lower the price significantly.

This trip is an important journey to our nation's history. I believe every student should be given an opportunity to go on this journey. Seeing all those students that can't fulfill this desire to experience, explore and learn because of an unrealistic price, truly makes me upset. I'm sure that if some efforts are made, the price will go down significantly and I'm sorry that nothing is being done about that.

The problem being said and explained, the next step is to arrange a special comittee in the ministry of education that would examine the problem and eventually offer solutions. After that, I truly expect that some changes will be made in order to reach the goal which is- lowering the price.

Thank you for reading this letter.

Truly yours,
Kobi.

Excellent work. You are really improving.
(100)
Daphna

2009-11-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

George Stoyonovich is the main charachter in the story "A Summer's Reading". He is a 20 year old unemployed young man that(ww. - who) lives with his father and sister. He dropped out of school at the age of 16 and hadn't(gr.) done much since then.

The fact that he dropped out of school and hasn't been able to progress in life for the last 4 years, shows that he is probably imature, lazy and dependant. He comes from a non-usual(ww.) family, his mother's(is) out of the picture and (his) father doesn't seem to be involved in his life. His sister, on the other hand, helps him and tries to push him to do something with himself. George grew up in a low-class neighborhood, the apartments were small and moldy, the train was right besides them and the general atmoshpehere was somewhat home-like(what do you mean? How is this poor, low class neighborhood home-like?).

As mentioned before, George dropped(out of) high-school early and hadn't(gr.) done much since then. He doesn't have any sort of diploma or work experience. The least thing he can do is reading(gr.) and enriching(gr.) his knowledge, but it seems like he is caught in a routine of doing nothing and finds it very difficult to do something productive. At some points of the story we can see that Mr.C gets very close to george. It seems like Mr.C really manages to get into George's head and even influence him. His sister is also helpful in her own way. The fact that she motivates George by telling him the truth in front of him(phr.) drives him to change his condition(not accurate).

Although I believe that we are the ones responsible for our own future and George is the main one to blame for his condition, I feel compassion for him. When he dropped out, he was only a kid, a teenage boy who didn't know crap(phr.) about life. He didn't get any support at all, not(ww. - neither) from his friends and not(ww.- nor) from his family. His life was(gr.) rough, and he isn't the only one to blame. George, obviously, did many mistakes in his life. The biggest one was that he didn't find a way to progress his life. he didn't get a steady job or basic education and after 4 valuable years he ended up doing nothing. I hope he will end up reading those 100 books, like he promised, and finally get a job, earn some money, try to progress. I certainly believe he'll do just fine.

(87)

Daphna

Please correct your work. The whole point of our work is to learn from mistakes...

Daphna.

The Eyes of the Dragon

2009-10-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

"The Eyes of the Dragon" was written by Stephen King and published in 1987. It's a fantasy book that describes a "classic" battle between good and evil. The story takes place whithin a kingdom called "Delain". It's written and told from a perspective of an unnamed story teller. The story is full of struggles and battles, scams and conspiracies and of course, a lot of magic.

There are 5 main characters involved in the story- King Roland, Queen Sasha, Prince Peter, Prince Thomas and the magician and king's advisor, Flagg. Right at the beggining of the story we witness Flagg's evil ambitions, his goal is to take control of the kingdom. He starts with his succesful attept to end queen Sasha's life while she's giving birth to Thomas and contiues with the poisoning of King Roland. The two princes develop into 2 complete different men. Prince Thomas who is intelligent, wise and handsome and Thomas who is chunky and clumsy.

The turning point of the story occures when King Roland is poisioned and Prince Peter (is) framed for the murder. Peter is sent to a tall tower and Prince Thomas, the younger brother, recieves the throne. Due to his very young age, 12, it seems that it is much easier for Flagg to manipulate him and get the kingdom's condition to relapse. Peter finally finds a creative way to escape the prison and take back the throne he deserves. After a long struggle, the two brothers overpower Flagg and he flees. From that event, it seems that the power balance changes; the good seems to overpower the evil.

In my opinion, the book is very well written, although it took me time to get used to the writing because I'm not used to read fantasy stories. The characters are well written and the story manages to keep up at a good pace. One fact (that) did disturb me though, is that the book seems like it was written for children; The "classic" villain that tries to gain power by manipulations and the "classic" hero, that opposes him and tries to eliminate his ambitions. Sadly, I felt the story wasn't sophisticated and intensive enough for me, but it was good and well written anyway.

Much better, Kobi. I enjoyed your review.
(97)
Daphna

Healthy Food

2009-09-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

Nutrition has always been an issue for most of us in our daily life. Our eating habits- whether we eat healthy or unhealthy food- are very important to us. But for others maybe not. Recently conducted studies show that there is a connection between the food we eat and our behavior. The question we're facing is whether food manufacturers are responsible for producing healthier food or not. I believe they are.

Let's take a school for example. It is a crowded institution, teenagers eat there every day. Their behavior can easily detiriorate by the smallest veriable. They can get violent and cause damage to the enviroment and themselves, and the food they eat can be a great factor to their behavior. Most of the food we eat today is processed by food manufacturers. That food is fortified with sugar, fat and other unhealthy additives. Therefore, it is possible to say that those food manufacturers have a great responsibility over us and our children, in particular.

Another example is prisons. Prisons tend to be very violent places. Giving the inmates healthier and sugarless food might cause a great improvment to their behavior. Therefore, producing healthier food by the manufacturers for the prisoners can do great and even save lives.

Some people might say that we are the ones responsible for the food we eat. I find that argument weak because a very big precentage of the food available to us is processed by manufacturers. They can't tell us to eat healthier food if there isn't any.

To sum up, I believe that food manufacturers must be held responsible for the food they produce. Those corporates have a big responsibility over our society. If they begin producing healthier food, their sales and profits will go up and make our world a better place. So it's a win-win situation.

(92)
Daphna

2009-09-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

10 Mote Gur Street
Holon

September 19, 2009

The Editor
Ha'aretz
P.O Box 28
Holon

Dear Editor,

Concerning the article you wrote about the Iranian and Israeli power balance, I'd like to express my support for Israel. I believe, as an Israeli, that Israel must not put itself under even the smallest existence risk. I can feel that Israel's right to attack Iran is justified and an all-out escalation is very likely to appear.

To begin with, Iran's president, Ahmenigad keeps wishing the destruction of Israel in every speech or interview. Being constantly threatened that way gives Israel legitimecy to strike Iran. I stronly believe that preperations are being made right now and an airstrike is very close, likely to appear between 2010-2011.

Concerning your opinion, I completely agree with most of your assumptions although I disagree with your statement that you think that sanctions will be able to stop Iran from its ultimate goal. Iran is few months away from a nuclear bomb, even the most severe sanctions will not be able to prevent it from getting its hands on a bomb. They have the knowledge, all they need is the time.

Therefore, I believe a strike is the ideal solution, it is likely to appear in a year or so and end Iran's ambitions for nuclear power.

Kobi Tavdish

Iran- nuclear power. How close?

2009-09-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Iran has been developing its nuclear technology since 1996. Nowadays, relying on foreign estimations, Iran is several months away from achieving enough nuclear power for a single bomb.

Israel has been trying for years to delay, sabotage and even prevent Iran's efforts to gain such power. It starts from activating secret undercover Mossad agents and opening straw companies to pressuring the international community to increase its economic embargo on Iran.

So far, it looks like it was all for nothing, Iran is closer than ever to have the capability of launching a nuclear bomb. The last and least favored option by the majority leaders of the west is the military strike on the nuclear facilities. Examining the events that occured not so long ago- the Israeli flag submarine, the "Dolphin", set off to the red sea through the Suez canal along with a powerful Israeli missile boat- can give us clues to estimate that a military strike may be closer than ever.

In this article we can see that Israel's prime minister, Netanyahu, urges the international community to worsen the sanctions on Iran, probably a step of last resort before the last option appears on the table.

I believe that a military strike along with a wide Middle-East escalation is to happen somewhere between 2010 and 2011. Economical and social sanctions don’t seem to appear in the near future and Iran achieving a bomb is unavoidable. A wide military conflict is likely to appear, Israel vs. Iran and its extensions- Hezbollah and Hamas.

The next steps Israel will take shall determine the future of the Middle-East.

Very good.

(100)

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1114452.html

Middle-East

2009-09-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

There is some growing interest now in the Middle East's Israeli-Palestinian conflict since Obama's administration kicked in. Netanyahu's government is trying to do anything to delay or gain some time or even get any leverage on the American pressure being put on him.

In the last few months there have been some intense talks about the conflict and the results of those are the softening in Netanyahu's demands. In this article we can see the results of the American growing pressure over him. He says "Israel is ready to restart talks", meaning he's willing to get back to the negotiation table with the Palestinian "leader" Abu- Mazen.

But that’s not all; one of the most important demands is over the continuation of the building of the settlements beyond the green line. One of Bibi's promises to his voters was that he wouldn't give up to any pressure from any country concerning the settlements and here we can see his softening and willingness to adjust his demands with whatever he sees fit.

I believe he is doing the right thing. Obama is young and ambitious and that’s good but he's also naïve, he knows nothing about the tension and the complexity of the middle-east. He thinks that with his speeches and charming smile he can fix the world but unfortunately, it is a bit more complicated than that.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/13/1007809/netanyahu-israel-ready-to-restart-talks

Good work!

(100)

School Uniform

2009-05-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

School uniform has always been a major part of an educational system. During its history is has been subjected to many for and against arguments. Some educators believe it's unnecessary and others that believe that it is a must.

There are a lots of problems that S.U solve; first, it saves a lot of time in the morning. It requires a lot of precious time in the morning for teenagers to decide what to wear. That particular time is very valuable because most of us don’t have even few free minutes in the morning. The School uniform is also cheap, very cheap actually, relatively to normal clothes. Today we live in a society which consumes. We buy everything, we love buying brand clothes and we are affected by our friends. There are some students that can't afford expensive or even average clothing but they can afford the cheap school uniform. It saves a lot of money for the parents, who are struggling enough, probably.

The mentioned advantages can turn into disadvantages very easily. It is said that the school uniform prevents students from expressing themselves, every student has his own "style" and he expresses himself by it. So, taking it from him, his probably one of few ways of expressing himself and making him unique, is pretty cruel. As a student that wears his school uniform daily, I think that it is very ugly and uncomfortable. I like wearing good quality clothes that look good and comfortable to me.

To sum up, there are many advantages and disadvantages regarding the importance of SU.

I believe school uniform is necessary and should be used by every school in the country because of the reasons mentioned above.

The relationship

2009-04-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

The 2 main and probably the only characters of the story are Burge McCall himself and his wife.

In my opinion Burge is somehow a humoristic character. He hates his wife. What kind of a husband would hate his wife and yet live with her under the same roof? This is very ironic. The story says that he has been married twice before and unsurprisingly his ex-es ran away from him and got divorced. He was also very cheap with his wife. He didn't agree to buy her any presents or treats, but was very generous with himself and other women. He was stingy, selfish, self-centered, rude, impolite and probably every other negative characteristics you can imagine. Mrs. McCall was very different, she was very calm person, never had much to say, she was that kind of woman the other women always called Mrs. because not many people knew her. She was tagged by the town's people as Mrs. McCall. At the end we can see that she was very smart too, she made plans for the long term and she succeeded. She came from Peppersauce Bottom, just south of Santa Fe rail yards. She came from a poor place and it is said that the reason she married him was to get out of that place.

They had been together for 3 years and 4 months and for a year and 2 months he didn’t like the way she looked at him. He started hating his wife, which is very unnatural for a couple's relationship. She was very quiet; she didn't even answer him when he called her names. It was very odd for him. He was used to women that called him names right back when he called them.

The way Mrs. McCall looked at him made him start hating her after only 2 months of marriage. Until one day, after 2 years of marriage, Burge McCall slapped Mrs. McCall on the face. She rapidly wiped out the place he slapped her and said "McCall you are a big rat. Some day you are going to regret what you have done". Burge was somewhat disappointed with her reaction. She didn't curse him or slapped him back.

One day Burge dropped into the drug store, which was owned by Mrs.Mcalls brother, to get a drink. The druggist there told him that his wife bought rat poison. At first he wasn't nervous but after a while he realized that the rat she was looking for might be him. He became very worried and began to eat and drink outside. He feared she might use the poison on him and kill him. He started behaving nicely to her because he was afraid and from that point their relationship just got better.

I think that their relationship is very funny and ironic. Most of the "just married" couples begin to get sick and tired of each other after some years of marriage. But the McCall's relationship started very badly and just got better with time. It is funny because the one and only thing that turned their relationship upside down was a simple pound of rat poison.

HomeWork- Important or

2009-03-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Homework has always been a big part of a student's life, whether he is in elementary school or college. During our lives we spent tens of thousands of hours in preparing homework. Is it really necessary? Does making homework give us tools for success in our lives, or a better chance in achieving our goals? Personally, I doubt that.

It is our job to ask ourselves if it is really necessary or just a waste of time. I personally believe that homework is mostly unnecessary especially in elementary school and middle school. During that period of studying grades aren't the most important outcome, it is us, who we become,whether we are good, honest, kind or greedy, cocky or whatever. Middle school should work on our values and less on grades. In order to support that claim I am willing to give myself as an example. I am a product of 9 years without preparing any homework and I think I came out just fine for the later stages of my education- High School.

Concerning high school my opinion is different; I think that high school is all about having good grades. Unfortunately, success in high school has the potential to give us a great leverage in our lives and that's exactly why homework is important at this stage of our education because doing homework expands our chances of having better grades.

To sum up, homework is very important and yet a very unnecessary task. In some stages of our lives it is unavoidable and even recommended and in others it is just a waste of time.

Space Exploration- Enriching our knowledge or Wasting our resources?

2009-02-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

Space exploration has always been a central and well funded field of the 2 super powers in the world. Nowadays it seems that the United States is far more advanced and efficient in this area than Russia. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in this field for research. Is it really worth it? Do we get anything else in return? Maybe we can invest that amount of money to improve the world's welfare situation. There are some arguments which might help us take better decisions.

Before stating the normal and obvious arguments, I believe that space exploration has been a part of a race.

A race between the 2 great superpowers in the world, this race is called the cold war and space exploration took a significant part in it. Space exploration isn't only about the research and the knowledge of space. Having achievements in it comes with a great feel of honor and prestige. And that is why those 2 superpowers raced between themselves for 4 decades and the winner received the honor and the respect it deserved. Fortunately, Space exploration isn't only about the honor and "fame", it's also about the research of the history and the future of our galaxy and universe. A Big part of the knowledge gained in this field is used to improve our quality of life on Earth. I believe those areas aren't less important than fame and glory.

Travelling to space has its disadvantages too. During the history of space travelling a lot of accidents occurred on the shuttles and 2 of them were fatal- they caused explosions.1 of them exploded after a few seconds of flight and the other while trying to get back to Earth. In the second one we lost our beloved Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. Space exploration is not only risky but expensive too. Success in this business comes with huge amounts of money paid from us- the tax payers; the question we're facing is if we, as human beings, can tolerate any kind of ignorance with the current undergoing issues such as the economy crysis, global warming etc . Imagine if all the money that was spent on space projects was invested in improving upcoming issues on Earth, such as welfare problems, environment problems, political issues etc. , we could have had much better and healthier lives.

To sum up, I agree that space exploration is very important and we should finance it and push this field to success and achieve knowledge but, there are more important issues on Earth we should put in our top priority list. If necessary, we should put the space projects on hold and concentrate on the upcoming recession.

Peer Pressure

2009-02-18T08:11:00.001-08:00

As a teenager in today’s world, I can see that our lives are a constant product of peer pressure and that our minds are often swayed from what may be considered better judgment because of how those around us feel. Peer pressure can come from any and everywhere and in every aspect of your lives. You can be five or ninety-five but yet, we are all victims of peer pressure. I would like to talk about one specific area which includes me and my friends, the adolescents, and express my opinion.

Before expressing my opinion I think I should clarify one thing.Peer pressure isn’t always negative and wrong. In certain parts and periods of our lives we will be exposed to positive and helpful peer pressure and in others to the exact opposite. It is our "job" to select the ones we need or think will be good for us.

During our studies in high school we are constantly exposed to peer pressure, positive and negative. The real question isn't about the specific details of the pressure such as "alocohol", "smoking", "cutting classes" etc. The real question is about US. Whether or not we can select and tag what we believe is good or bad for us.

For exmaple: few days ago a good friend asked me to cut bible class with him and a couple of guys. I answered negatively simply because I liked the subject and there was a test coming few weeks from then. One more example: There was an essay our biology teacher told us to write and needed to be handed very soon. I planned to write the essay on the last evening before it needed to be handed out, but my partner pushed me to do it right then and not to postpone it for the last day.

These are 2 examples of peer pressure. The first one is by all means a negative pressure and the first one is positive. What I'm trying to say is that at one hand we should stay far from pressure which is tagged by us as negative and on the other hand get the closest we can to pressure which we believe is positive. This is the only way I believe we will do the least mistakes and even succeed in our lives.

Letter of Advice

2009-01-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

29.1.2009

Dear Mike,

I've recently heard about your problem and I want to tell you that I understand it. I have already been in situations like this before and I have passed through them successfully. If I understood correctly your letter, you were saying that you are unsure about that mountain climbing and your friends are "pushing" you to do this. Right?

I can see that you're facing two dilemmas. The first one, you are unsure about climbing that mountain and the second is about your friends, you feel under pressure, which is completely normal.

First of all I want to address your first problem. Danger is life. There is no proper living without any danger, in my opinion."Conquer your fear and I promise you, you'll conquer DEATH."- as Alexander the great said. I can't imagine myself living without danger...

Even if you get hurt somehow, you should know that you did your best and enjoyed that kind of experience. I mean, you will enjoy it, I can assure you! Mountain climbing is an extreme sport, it gets your adrenaline flowing like a water in a river in your blood stream. If you decide to relinquish it after all, I can tell you that you'll regret it for the rest of your life. This is a once in a lifetime experience you should do only with your friends supporting you.

Now, I'd like to state my opinion about your situation with your friends.I think that you should listen to them, but you must make sure that whatever happens, your judgment won't change in any circumstances. You must stay aware and consciouse of your enviroment and focus on the dilemmas you’re facing.

I can only wish you good luck and advice you to do whatever your instincts tell you to do. If deep inside you feel you should go for it, then go for it. DO NOT hesitate. Be decisive! But, if your instincts tell you to relinquish this unique experience, then unfortunately, I think you should pass that. Anyway, my opinion stays the same, If I were you I would be climbing that mountain already.

I hope I helped you.

Good luck PAL.

My opinion about the current situation in the middle east:

2009-01-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

First of all, it isn't a simple problem, its one the most complicated and sensitive situations in the world's history. If I'd say that I have 'the perfect' solution for that problem I'd probably lie. There is no current 'formula' for a solution. In this case, I believe Isreal should work on damage control.

What does it mean? Israel should get its detteration ability back. We must force Hamas to believe that for every missile shot to Sderot or Ashkelon it will get back heavy bombardment to its forces in Gaza, in this way we will get some security.

I support IDF operations in Gaza with no hesitation and futhermore, I believe it should increase the fire and impose more deadly bombardents into those ammunation depots and training camps. This operation is unavoidable but necessary though. I don’t think a ceasefire will be appropriate for now because IDF hasn't accomplished its objectives yet. IDF should maintain its agression till Hamas will be as weak as it was before it took control of Gaza.

To sum up, I support the government decisions and IDF actions in Gaza and if I had a choice I'd put up some uniform and join the fighting in order to support my nation.

Informal Letter

2008-12-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Or

God, I haven't written to you in a long time. I was pretty busy lately with all the exams I have had. English, History and Math, all in one week and those are not easy at all, as you already know.

How are you? How is your new school? Have you made any new friends? Met a girl perhaps?

I want to tell you about this amazing film I have seen not long ago.

It is called "Fight Club", It was filmed about 10 years ago starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. It is about 2 guys that come to a conclusion that life in this modern age isn't satisfying enough so they decide to open a fight club. And the the best part of it is the endin... It has such a dramatic twist in the end that it will probably take few minutes to digest... It also contains everything; action, black humor, drama, sex and most of all this is the deepest and most interesting movie I've ever seen my whole life. The main character is called Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt. The most umique thing about this character is that he acts against all the normal customs in the modern society, it's difficult to verbalize, I hope you understand, I just highly and strongly recommend you to see it as fast as possible.

Anyway, Long story short, after I've seen this movie I haven't stopped thinking about it the whole week and of course, saw it again a couple of times and still keep thinking about it.

I hope I'll see you soon and don’t forget to send me a letter with your opinion about the movie; I'm looking forward to it!

God bless you my friend.

Kobi

Hibernation

2008-11-26T05:54:00.000-08:00

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate.

Hibernating animals conserve energy, especially during winter when food is short, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate.

It's the animal's slowed metabolic rate which leads to a drop in body temperature and not the other way around.

The first exhibit I'd like to present is the Animal Hibernation focusing on bears and their muscle tissues:

Animals that hibernate include bats, some species of ground squirrels and other rodents but the most famous considered hibernator is the bear. Many bears of northern regions are assumed to hibernate in the winter. While many bear species do go into a physiological state called hibernation or winter sleep, it is not true hibernation. In true hibernators, body temperatures drop to near ambient and heart rate slows drastically, but the animals periodically rouse themselves to urinate or defecate and to eat from stored food.

The body temperature of bears, on the other hand, drops only a few degrees from normal and heart rate slows only slightly. They normally do not wake during this "hibernation", and therefore do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate the entire period. Higher body heat and being easily roused may be adaptations, because females give birth to their cubs during this winter sleep.

It can therefore be considered a more efficient form of hibernation because they don't need to be awake through the entire period, but they are more quickly and easily awakened at the end of their hibernation. They have to stay in a den for the whole hibernation.

Bears Muscle tissue during hibernation:

One issue that has aroused curiosity between physiologists for years is how hibernating mammals, such as bears, avoid extreme muscle wasting during hibernation.

How does a mammal prevent its muscles from degrading after going for months without eating? A new study offers some clues. A group from the University of Barcelona studied hibernating bears and identified specific blood plasma components which prevent protein breakdown. The bears' metabolisms preferentially burn their stored fat and therefore preserve muscle mass that would otherwise be rapidly degraded and broken down for energy.

The researchers conducted an experiment in which they injected rats with bear plasma, and observed a 40% reduction in chemical reactions that cause animals consume muscles for energy.

The Second Exhibit- Hedgehogs Hibernation:

The triggers that cause hedgehogs to hibernate are cold and a lack of food, and males are thought to hibernate first, although they will wake up earlier than females.

Hedgehogs have two sorts of fat, brown and white - the white fat (which is about 1/3 the total body fat just before hibernation) supplies the energy during hibernation, while the brown fat supplies the energy used when the hedgehog may wake up for brief periods during the winter, and when the hedgehog comes out of hibernation in the spring.

If the hedgehog does not have sufficient fat stores, it will not survive hibernation - hedgehogs should weigh at least 700 grams (about 1 & 1/2 lbs) if they are to hibernate successfully.

Hedgehogs sleep in a nest or hibernaculum - the hedgehog brings grass and leaves to its nesting site, builds a pile and then burrows inside and turns round and round packing the leaves flat and ending up with walls up to 10cm thick. A new nest is built in this way every winter.

My trip to Turkey

2008-11-19T23:53:00.000-08:00

Unlike the previous writing assignment in which the subject was pretty easy to choose, at this one it took pretty long for me to….
The place I chose eventually is Topkapi Hotel in Anatalia, Turkey.
I have been there during my summer vacation.

In one word: AMAZING! This place is huge, like 10 square miles of restaurants, residence areas, basketball, football, volleyball, tennis fields and more, I can promise that everything a normal person can imagine in a hotel is there.

When my family and I arrived we were accepted by a receptionist. He gave us 2 keys for each room (we had 1 room for me and my bro' and another room for the younger brother and our parents). The rooms were kind of average, they had air conditioning, nice beds, a single chair, a middle size TV with Israeli channels and a normal bath and toilets.

We could eat anytime we wanted, the dining room was opened 24/7.
4 meals were served every day, breakfast, launch, dinner and a midnight meal. I believe it is unnecessary to say that the food was very good. There were 2 pools, the first one was huge and the other one was tiny, I think it was for younger kids, like babies or something like that…
The pool had many different water slides and sliding on them was fun.

I believe I've already mentioned it, the hotel had restaurants, 5 different types: Italian, Turkish, Mexican and I can't remember the rest cause I didn't have time to eat at all of them but I can assure you that the food was beyond excellent.

The hotel also had a private beach. I remember there was a small marine on the water in which we could sleep or rest there. We also did water skiing and it was one of the most extreme experiences I have ever had in my whole life.

To sum up, we sure had a lot of great time together, we did whole bunch of family stuff but I will probably talk about it some other time. I enjoyed very much writing it and I hope you'll enjoy reading.

The closest person to me

2008-10-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

When I was told to write about a close person to me the first image that appeared in my head was my adorable little brother.

Before I begin I believe I should mention that I have 2 brothers. The first one is 12 years old and the second one is 4. Obviously I am going to write about the younger one.

When I found out that my mother was pregnant with a little boy I was shocked, I was only 11 years old. Immediately after that, terrible thoughts were going through my mind such as: "Oh my god, my mom won't care about me anymore, she will forget me and my brother and be focused only at the baby". I was also worried about the upcoming presence of another man in the house. How it would affect my relations with my parents and my brother.

When the baby was born my parents named him "Michael" after my grandfather's name. A few days later we celebrated his circumcision in a pretty big ceremony including 150 guests.

The first months were confusing, I didn't feel any feelings for him, maybe because he was very small and had hepatitis and it was impossible to acknowledge him as a human being.

Months were passing by like an eternal fall into a bottomless pit, he was growing up very fast and it became impossible not to like him, he was so cute, so adorable that everyone in the neighborhood knew him and loved him.

A year or so passed and Mike was on his way to the kindergarten for the first time. My mom and grandma accompanied him. I was told he was very nervous and cried like hell but he managed very well later in the day. The kindergarten teachers liked him very much and always claimed that he was very intelligent and smart.

After a few months in the kindergarten almost everyone in the family could define his characteristics. He was a kind, generous, happy, loving person, very friendly and I can go on and on but then I would just repeat myself…

What do I feel about him?

I simply love this person, I accept him with his advantages and disadvantages. He is so innocent that it makes me smile. Sometimes he pisses me off and I just feel I want to him but of course I take it with a smile and laugh after that. I am a big influence on him, he always states that when he grows up he wants to be as strong and smart as me and I am very flattered.

To sum up, there is no person in the world that can dislike him. He is the cutest and most charming person in the world and i hope he will keep it that way in the future.

-M-E-

2008-09-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

My name is Kobi Tavdish and I am 15 and a half years old. My height is average for my age, I look like an athlete and I have brown eyes and hair.
I moved to Holon four years ago from Tel-Aviv. I had studied 9 years in Teva school and moved this year to Kugel highschool.

My hobbies are very simple, I go to the gym twice a week, I love jogging in my free time, I also play basketball and love to hangout with my friends in the weekends.

As I already mentioned, I am new in Kugel highschool, I came from Teva school which is a private school, and can easily see a lot of differences between those two schools.
Among many subjects I like, my favorite would be physics simply because I like math and geometry, and physics is a kind of combination between the two.

My expectations from myself this year are obvious to me; my first goal is to be a successful student in all the important subjects, I want to succeed in the "Bagrut" tests. I also want to make new friends in this school and improve my physical capabilities by working out in the gym and of course improve my nutrition habits.

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2008-09-11T02:55:00.001-07:00

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ניסיון

2008-09-07T08:55:00.001-07:00

-ניסיון כתיבת בלוג-