Monday, September 10th, 2018.

Teenagers admit that all of this new technology has been a distraction to what is going on around them. The strength of their relationships with humans have decreased and in many cases caused fluctuation in their grades. Most of the fluctuation is trending towards a downward spiral. Yet, a striking amount of students (30%) in their teens (ranging from 13 to 17) have also said they wish their parents would get off their devices too. A parent paying more attention to their child has become a rarity. Also, an overwhelming amount of students (72%) believe tech companies manipulate each phone to entice them into spending more time learning their nuances. Every phone manufacturer blatantly shows the different features they have added available for download which puts the users data storage in many cases into crisis mode. Along with all of these new apps comes the competition to be the most popular. Snapchat and Instagram are on the top of that list with an estimated 81% of teenagers using them. These two apps almost create withdrawal symptoms when they're not being used. The biggest downfall in technology of course is the mass amount of teens being bullied (13%). In my opinion, social media rules need to get updated just like the technology driving it does. We all could use an update and yes, I’m including myself in that statement.

Written by, Ballarini ~ STR-201

Monday, September 17th, 2018.

Yusaku Maezawa will be the first private passenger to explore the depths of the moon by circling it. He also will be able to fly on the famous, “Big Falcon Rocket”. With a net worth of almost $3 billion, he was apart of a huge announcement for SpaceX today. The excitement was incredible at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California all day. The launch is scheduled to happen sometime in 2023. Maezawa talked about how much he loved the moon and how he was relieved about the announcement. “I love the moon. I like to do the things that never have been done before. So I want the challenge to go to the moon.” The Japanese billionaire explained how much he loved the moon and how it feels like it’s, “protecting him.” “In Japan, you look up at the moon, and it looks like a rabbit,” he said. Noting that 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. The launch, if it goes on time, will be perfect in his eyes.

Written by, Ballarini ~ STR-201

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018.

I support sending humans to Mars. That is the only way we will ever know if we can exist there or not. I know they sent rovers there to see what the atmosphere is like etc. But, we need to send humans too. There was a big debate about just this topic with a Senate subcommittee just this week. One of NASA's former chief scientist, Ellen Stofan, who now leads the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, argued that, “If we truly want to find and understand any potential traces of ancient life on the Red Planet, robots can't do it alone — we'll need humans on the ground. While I'm optimistic that life did evolve on Mars, I'm not optimistic that it got very complex, so we're talking about finding fossil microbes. That's why I do think it will take humans on the planet, breaking open a lot of rocks to try to actually find this evidence of past life. And finding one sample is not good enough; you need multiple samples to understand the diversity," Stofan said.  I tell you what, I will be the first guy to suit up for that mission.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

Tuesday, August 21st, 2018.

There is an awesome new drone out there that is now considered to be a must have in the security world. It's called, "The Drone Hunter". Fortem CEO Timothy Bean, says it patrols your airspace and detects any unwanted objects. Like enemy drones or other robotics. When it detects them, it pursues them and safely captures them too. Then it tows them away to a safe location. Today, in Utah, National Investigative Correspondent Jeff Rossen watched as Bean put The Drone Hunter to work against an enemy drone. It was loaded with real explosives and was launched from the depths of a nearby forest. Bean believes that the technology his company has developed could transform the way such public spaces are policed. If you look at the drone strike in Venezuela recently, law enforcement needs to be keenly aware of their surroundings. Places like stadiums, outdoor events and refineries need this type of new technology protecting their assets.

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

Friday, August 17th, 2018.

Amazon is planning to crush Netflix in movie theaters? I'm telling you, the fight for control over streaming consumption is coming to a movie theater near you. Bob Barney, the marketing and distribution chief of Amazon Studios  said, "All of the company's films will be released theatrically." They are also planning to deliver, "an aggressive marketing campaign to bring audiences to the theaters." Amazon Studios is best known for its successful television series, including Mozart, In the Jungle, Transparent and others. They now want to up the ante and beat Netflix at their own game. At least there's competition being created. The free enterprise system makes everything better. That's what makes America Great. We are only 5% of the worlds population but we are 25% of the economy. Capitalism is the reason.

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

Tuesday, August 7th, 2018.

Can you believe Tesla shares went on a wild ride Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that he was hoping to privatize the company at $420 a share. By Tuesday afternoon, Musk made a more formal statement about privatizing Tesla in a company blog post, wow. Keep competitive information secret: As a privately held company, Tesla would not have to disclose information that could give competitors an edge! By contrast, Tesla now makes quarterly disclosures about their business total debt levels, personnel changes, executive compensation, how many cars are being produced and delivered, various lawsuits the company is facing and its views of risks and competitors. The benefits of being private are even more clear for Tesla considering their ambitious mission. They want to accelerate the globe's adoption of renewable energy. Despite a recent barrage of bad news, Tesla is definitely a company to be reckoned with. I tell you another thing, I would drive a Tesla (give my boss a call Elon and let me go on a test drive).

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

Friday, August 4th, 2018.

Today is the public unveiling of Mario Cart in VR. I've heard the more sick you get from a game made for Virtual Reality the better the game. I don't know from personal experience. I've never played any VR game before. Most people I've talked to who have played VR has said they're way better at it. Easier to play in general is a common theme. I'll get back to you in the future if I can find out where locally they're letting people test run the Mario Cart game in VR. I would agree to vomit for a chance to play.

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

Friday, July 13th, 2018.

Kylie Jenner has graced the cover of Forbes Magazine this week. She is predicted to soon be youngest person ever to become a Billionaire at 20 years old. Right now she has a net worth of 900 million. Jeez, that's insane! The previous record is held by Bill Gates back in 1987. He was 31 and I also think Mark Zuckerberg did the same. I predict Kylie Jenner will break the record next year. Jenner said she was thankful to be recognized and that she dreamt of being on the cover of Forbes. Kylie has been earning bank from her make-up company. She also earns money through her app that's called "Kylie Jenner Official App". People on social media have said the reason she is "self-made" is because she was born into wealth and fame. I'll buy into that a little bit but I'm not taking anything away from her greatness. She earned nearly 19 million in one day on a release during the Christmas holiday in 2017. As for my goal, yeah, it's a little more conservative. I'll celebrate if I've become a thousandaire before I graduate next summer. I've heard college can get pretty expensive.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801