The Plan.

English.

Keep it up Jack. You're doing good. Don't choke. If you do, I'll defenestrate you. That's right I'll throw you out the window.

Chemistry.

Wow. what we learned was so weak. We barely did anything. I expect a lot more from you and you should be giving more. Study more. Lewis dot diagrams this week you better do them. You better study periodicity and stuff like that. That's it for now.

ITGS.

Okay. You're demolishing the projects, but failing the quizzes... Seriously, that will have to change. There's no way I'm going to let you fail any more on those things. I'm making you copy and paste the entire list of key terms and memorizing every one. Read it once every week. Maybe even once a day. Until you drilled it into your mind. Good thing we have 70% exams.

French.

Okay. Wow. Call an ambulance because I need one. I am terrible at french. How can I change this? Well I guess I'll have to beat it into you. I like how I'm changing I to you and nothing changes. You're not making sense. I don't care. Any ways. French. Okay. I plan on writing a small french article everyday. Not very good ones at the moment. But better than nothing. I will have to get use to writing and and reading. I'll read a article and write a summary of it. I'll post this on the blog. It's turning into a waste centre anyway. Especially after the last post.

General Plans and other things.

I need to finish that website for my client in ITGS. I will work on the flow chart or something, but I don't think that it will be very elaborate, considering that it will only have like 5 separate pages. I should think of more, but it's not coming to me right now.

CAS.

Need to do journals and logs. Like immediately...

Maybe I'll make just do a different format than their log sheets. I don't want to feel confined like that any way. Stupid Managebac, not working. What a useless Site.

Extended Essay.

Wanted to finish this before Christmas. Still possible? Yes. Probable? Probably not. Knowing me, it's probably a no.

TOK.

What a terrible class. Too many people. Too many opinions. Everything is repeated. Nothing new. So painful..

IB.

I don't even think is hard. For anything who likes otherwise. Come at me bro.

Well... So much for that.

Reading the previous post which I had done quite a while back, I've realized that I haven't accomplished what I set out to do. However, I have to say that my English has improved significantly, and I have a 98 to show for it.

Besides that, I have so much work to do.

Okay, seriously.

I'm done with this formal stuff.

I'm going to talk however I feel like, while still sounding sophisticated enough.

So.

Problem one.

I have 90.5 average.

Wow.

Come on...

You have to be kidding me.

I have a 98 in english.

94 in Chemistry

90 is ITGS.

This is a joke. I'm going to destroy ITGS like I destroyed media arts last year. Mark my words!

An 80 in french...

Wow.

Wow.

Just Wow.

Come on Jack...

An 80...

That's the lowest mark you ever got on a course besides that fail summer school thing.

Step it up.

This is embarrassing.

ITGS

I can deal with.

Study more on key terms.

Memorize everything.

But French ..

Okay. It's time for Gohan here to go SSJ2. Sad for youuuuuuuuu.

Or me.

I would rather it be you.

Okay.

I can't believe I transformed this blog into a rant fest.

Whatever.

I don't care anymore.

It was a dead blog anyway.

Most of my traffic came from those fake shared surfing sites anyways...

Time to do this.

Another rant.

They closed down google journal...

NOOOOOOOO

Wow google.

Come on!

I liked google journal.

It was so good.

Now you expect me to use google docs?

No way man.

Wow.

So now I have to use this blog.

Just great I tell you.

Anyways.

Here's the plan.

Actually.

This is getting a little long.

I'll write the plan in the next post.

Blog revival: The Procrastinating Son Returns

Hello everyone that out there who still visits this pathetic excuse for a blog. I've never found enough effort to help this blog flourish into the money-making cash cow that I once wanted. Anyways, I've decided to revive this fallen masterpiece into what hopefully will be a medium in which I can improve my English. High school is being rather difficult at the moment and insists that I should actually try to do some work. Since English is one of the main issues, I thought that I should use this blog to improve it, along with a systematic approach.

First, I should list what I know I need to improve or what I have problems with:

1. Using correct diction in varying situations. I've noticed that I tend to use long and flowery words in many of my writing, which is often out of place and sounds rather unnatural.

2. Writing very slowly and needing to read everything over and over to make sure it's perfect. This is a fatal flaw, as I can never actually make it perfect, usually causing me to leave it at its mediocre state while wasting a lot of time doing so. A far better writing style is to write most of my ideas down first, then arrange and fix it after. This would be much more efficient and would definitely save me hours of frustration.

3. I need to acknowledge that I have difficulty writing things in perfect order, and instead of aggravating myself by forcing unproductive brainstorming, I should move on to a part that I am ready to write.

4. My sentences are far too long sometimes. I find that I would often abuse the use of commas to elongate my sentences, to make them seem sophisticated. Usually though, they end up confusing to read.

Next is to I must write down a plan. I remember so many teachers and books that have told me to do this, but I just ignored them, thinking that I could do anything I wanted without one, and that writing down my ideas was pointless and obsolete.

My most self-proclaimed ingenious plan to improve my English is to integrate structure in my writing. Since grade school, teachers have taught us how to write essays using the hamburger or sandwich method, which is the basis of an essay, and even a single paragraph. Using structure, my writing will be much more understandable and easy to follow. In this every article, I have included introduction at the beginning, a list of goals, a plan, and then I will conclude with a conclusion that wraps up and article and relate it self back to my introduction. This have been taught to me numerous times, but this is the first time I've actually try to put it in use.

To conclude, I have to say that my writing still needs a lot of work, and that I will need a lot of practice before I can be satisfied with it, but this is the start of my path towards success and excellence. I will hopefully pass high school with flying colours, revive this blog, and use this opportunity to achieve something great.

Good day to you all,

Jack Xu.

PenSpinning: The Art of Writing Utensil Manipulation

Pencil Spinning is the manipulation of a writing utensil (not just a pen) to perform various tricks in one's hand. The origin of Pen Spinning has been rooted back to pre-World War II Japan, where a student is shown spinning a pen. However, there is no definite founder of this impressive art, only a few collective groups of enthusiasts were found in the 1990s and later. Now, a growing community of Pen Spinners have made this once amusing trick into a masterful art.

School can be extremely boring at times. There are many students fiddling with their pencils or pens. A few can do simple tricks, like the Thumbaround, Fingerpass, Sonic, or Charge, without knowing that they are performing the fundamentals of an intensely difficult art. Every trick takes time to learn, and much longer to master. It is amazing how skillful a few techniques can look when they are weaved together with precision.

A large number of tutorials and demonstrations can be found on every trick if you scour Youtube to find them. If you are interested and wish to participate in the the community, Penspinners have a forum called the Universal Pen Spinning Board (UPSB). Visit www.upsb.info for more information.

Shopping Online with Minimal Risk: Using Gift Credit Cards

Nowadays, online shopping is growing more and more popular. Not only do they offer rock bottom prices in comparison to their physical counterparts, but they also ship their products right to you're doorstep. The convenience and prices are unrivaled, so what's stopping people from buying online completely? Credit card fraud. Fear of having your credit card number stolen and then having them misused for online shopping sprees is a good reason to refrain from shopping online.

I'm sure many of you have heard of the advantages of shopping online, but if you have parents like mine, or just plain paranoid of the wild web, then chances are you haven't and don't plan on shopping online in the future. This means you are missing out on a great experience along with the savings you could have.

Now, I've found a way to shop online with minimal risk. Using gift credit cards (the ones with numbers on them), you are able to shop online without the hassle of applying for your own credit card or fear of losing a great amount of money (the most you can lose is what you paid for). You can find these cards at most of your local supermarkets and electronic stores, and can use them immediately after activation.

This is a great option because of its convenience and the freedom it gives you for online shopping, so if you've always wanted to take advantage of online offers, seize the moment and buy a gift credit card to satisfy you're desires.

Wireless Solution for Your Ipod: Setting Up an Ad Hoc Network

Personally, I own a Linksys wireless G router. However, it is defective and provides an intermittent wireless experience at best. Because of this, I rarely use it for any reason. When I got an Ipod Touch a year ago, I couldn't get wireless at home. After scouring the internet, I found a solution. The solution, something I've never heard of, was to make a wireless ad hoc network. In order to set one up though, you need a wireless adapter of some sort. If laptop, then chances are you already have an adapter. If your desktop doesn't have one, you're either out of luck or you could go to a store and purchase one. ( I've seen some for less than $10, so they're cheaper they're cheaper than buying a router.) Here's how to set up your own ad hoc network.

(Note: These instructions are based on Windows Vista. Steps to set up an ad hoc network for other operating systems may differ. Also, for this to work, make sure your wireless is turned on!)

1. Go to control panel.

2. In Classic View, go to Network and Sharing Center.

3. There, select "Set up a connection or network" on the left column.

4. Choose "Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network".

5. Click Next.

6. Choose a network name. Select WEP for security type (IMPORTANT!). Make a five letter password. Check the "save network box".

7. Click Close and your done!

This not only works for Ipods, but for cell phones and other mobile devices as well. You can even have other laptops connected to you wireless ad hoc network. So there you have it - a solution to life without a router.

HTTPS Google Mail: Bypass Web Filters

I'm in high school, so I know what a pain it is to have web filters to websites that are blocked without a good reason. This is especially frustrating when they block email providers such as hotmail or gmail. The night before you email yourself the assignment and when you go to print at school, you find out the site is blocked. I know, because this has happened to me personally. Now I play it safe by bringing work on a flash drive.

Anyways, after that unfortunate experience, I've discovered a way to bypass web filters when I was bored at school. I went on a site through a link, but couldn't get on it through google search. I noticed something peculiar in the site address and tried on gmail. Surprisingly, it worked. Though this not work for everyone, you should still give it a try if you are being aggravated by web filters.

By adding "https" instead of a regular "http" protocol, you can sometimes enter sites that were originally blocked. This works because some filters do not block "https" sites. I'm not sure about the reason behind this, but it's probably just a flaw in the system.

Now you may ask, what's so good about this if it only works for a few sites? Well, with "https", you can bypass web filters into certain proxy sites. Two in which I know are Secure Tunnel and Surf We Can. With these, you can surf the web with ease and without restriction.