Stock Market Crash

Upon the U.S Congress rejection of a $700 billion bailout plan yesterday, markets all over the world crashed.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index collapsed after losing a breathtaking 840.93 points to close at 11,285.07. At one point during yesterday's session, the index fell over 900 points from the previous day's close. In New York, the Dow Jones fell 777 points, with a total financial loss of over $1.2 trillion. Similar havoc was wreaked worldwide, and the leaders of both the U.K, and Australia made a rare move, urging president Bush to take action in his financially failing nation.Toronto's nearly 7% drop was the worst in nearly 8 years, and things don't look like they're getting better.

I'm no financial analyst, nor do I aspire to be one, but media coverage alone speaks to the magnitude of this incident.

I seriously wonder what president Bush's is thinking. Perhaps he's still president, but if I were him, I'd probably be wary of making any major decisions. The implications of his decisions, wise or not, can have massive effect on the future of Obama/McCain. I think he should be less worried on making massive changes, and focus on moving his stuff out of the Oval Office. IMHO, it's not in his place to create a headache for the next president.

Big things are coming our way. We just don't quite know what they are yet.

UPDATE: I've just learned that the TSX gained 500 points today. That's good. Right?

Election Apathy

This is probably the most relaxed day I've had in more than a week. My interview is over, my tests for this week are all completed, and the next wave of projects is yet to be assigned :P.

These elections are unbelievable. Typically, I'm the kind of person that actually follows these things, and I tend to read all the articles, and discuss all the controversy. But this election is different. It seems so pointless, so petty, and so uninspiring, even I can't really get interested. I can't imagine how apathetic the average Canadian is feeling these days.

Yesterday, Harper's announcement of arts funding cuts stirred up more controversy than it was worth. It's sad to see how desperate media is getting these days.

The Liberals lack a leader (more on Dion's patheticness in a forthcoming post), the Conservatives are woefully uninspiring, the NDP is for once, rather unoriginal, and the Greens stand no chance.

Considering how much more educated in politics I am than many Canadians, it hardly seems fair that I can't legally vote. It would seem that youth at my age are largely drowned out.

Still, even if I could vote, I'm not sure I would. These elections, IMHO, are a waste of money, and time. For once, I'm not going to push voters to be heard. After all, there's nothing really to hear.

A new season, a new team?

Well, there you have it. The Toronto Maple Leafs won their first exhibition game last night against the sabres, 7-4. Does this mark a club comeback, and the things to come? I sort of doubt it.

Still, there's always hope :P.

I'm so tired, and my homework is insane.

This is absolutely insane. I've got at least 8 hours of homework this weekend, not including the 3 hours of studying I'll probably have to do. Ugh...

Here's a brief summary:

-Work on my resume, and prepare for an interview for DECA
-Work on a pitch for my radio station, RAV FM
-Type out a 3-page "double spaced 12 point font Times New Roman" metacognition statement.
-Study for french, tech and math.
-Do insane amounts of math textbook work, as well as practice quiz online.
-Create an online myth using a specific story creator, with storyboards, proof of brainstorming, outline notes, archetypal analysis, notes on symbolism, and proof of peer editing.

Isn't that crazy? 

My body is definitely complaining. I'm so tired, it's ridiculous. I guess it comes with the territory, considering all the resume-padding clubs I'm joining :P.

An Airborne City?

So much homework... So little time...It used to be that more than an hour of homework was a twice a year occurence. Now it's the norm. So in light of not having time to look for original material, check out this.

Seriously. If it's real, which it might not be, considering the lack of verifiable sources, it would no doubt be the single greatest architectual achievement in history. It's important to realize the magnitude of this structure.

Essentially (or, at least, how I understand it), this is basically a city in the air. Image tens of thousands of people living in an airborne city. A project like this could revolutionize the way we live.

Happy Birthday to... ME!- Another year (insert adjective here)

Well, I'm finally fourteen. It's been officially 5113 days since my birthday.

I don't really feel much older, or wiser, or bigger, but at least I'm now legally entitled to work (which isn't necessarily a good thing :P). I'm anticipating the "get a job" comments to spike this year, but I guess it comes with the territory.

Anyways, there's work to do, and my fingers are tired, so this post is over.

A Tribute.

Today marks the 7th year since the events of September 11th, 2001.

Despite my age at the time, my recollection of that day is vivid. Ask nearly anyone today, and they'll remember what they were doing, and where they were, on the 46th minute of the eighth hour exactly 7 years ago..

I remember sitting in my Grade 2 class, the day after the attacks, unable to realize the gravity of the situation, but aware of something that had changed.

It was so pointless, so brutal, and so irrespective of the santicity of human life, that it made us question the very foundations of humanity. It rearranged our priorities, and the aftermath affected nearly every person, and every business in North America.

It made us realize, above all, how very fragile our world really was.

My heart goes out to each and every person affected by the senseless tragedy. May we never forget the lives lost that day, and the brave souls that were lost in the effort to save them.

Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who
grieve, for the children whose worlds have been
shattered, for all whose sense of safety and
security has been threatened. And I pray they
will be comforted by a power greater than any
of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23:
"Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with
me."

- President George W. Bush, September 11th, 2001

Back In the Rhythm...

Well, it's been a week, and you could probably say that I've finally adapted somewhat to the school schedule. I'm still really, really, really tired, but I'm sure that it's inevitable, considering the rather heavier-than-anticipated workload, hence, my lack of blogging.

My semesters are pretty balanced, but now that I think of it, I probably would like one killer semester, and one easy one better. That way, even though I'm working my butt off for half a year, at least I somewhat get a break.

My school's class transfer "lottery" is coming up, but since our school is nearly filled to capacity, I seriously doubt I'll get the classes I want. Oh well, I guess I can live with Acedemic science.

I actually attended a great party this weekend, at the mansion of my friend's uncle. This place is HUGE. It's got the most beautiful elevator I've ever seen, a colossal indoor pool, and an outdoor terrace the size of a house. The kitchen is absolutely stunning, and the 2nd floor has private balconies where you can look out onto the people milling around. I have pictures, but my dumb phone won't let me transfer them without a SD card reader :(.

Anyways, toodles. I probably won't be blogging again for a while, but keep posted.

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet."

~Aristotle

A Change...

Ahhh... A new look!

It's fresher, cleaner, and in my opinion, more functional. Although some stuff might be missing (I actually attempted to play around with the HTML, but I decided it wasn't too wise :P), I like it better. There's no more fluffy, useless, widgety stuff to detract from the real content, and I sincerely hope you like it.

I've retained the important things, like my blog roll, but if you really miss something, and/or you hate the design, feel free to leave a comment.

And as an aside, today was freshman Friday, and with some genius planning with my friends, I survived. More on that in the next post.

Back to School...

Once again, apologies for the lack of regular posting. High school seems to be more hectic than I had anticipated.

It's interesting, being in high school. At the risk of sounding cliche and trite, high school feels very, grown up. Perhaps I'm being overly sentimental here, but it's great to have the autonomy that high school affords you.

No longer do I have to sign out  to go to lunch. Now, I just walk out the door!

My classes are nothing special, but after all, it is a school. They're reasonably interesting, with the exception of tech, which totally sucks.

I actually failed my first minor assignment thingy, which for me, is rather rare. It's not worth much (actually, next to nothing), but it's a rude awakening. It would seem that I'm not quite as good at building things as I would like to be :P.

I'm currently looking for a new blog template. I might try a few things out over the next few days, but most of my widgets don't seem to be working, and the formatting is ll weird with the independent templates. If anyone is proficient with HTML, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Labour Day

The origins of Labour day in Canada date back to April 14,1872, when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week.

After a few years of spotty, and unorganized events, a decision was made in 1894 to have a permanent national  holiday held in September, every year.

Today, Labour Day is almost purely symbolic, but millions of Canadians appreciate the extra day of rest.

So enjoy your day off. After all, school starts tommorow. :(