What happened today?

When you come home from school or work, does your family always ask you " How was your day?" " or " What happened today?" well they do for me and there have been many a time when I was lost for words. This recent observation led me to curiously research what important events occured today:

1977- NASA launches the first Viking planetary probe towards Mars.

1988-A cease-fire is agreed on in hte Iran- Iraq war after eight years.

1907- Alan Reed, who was the original voice of the Flinstones was born.

1974- The actress Amy Adams was born.

additionally:

World Union Day

Nepal's Children's day

Geek of the Week

Hello, and welcome to the first installment of our weekly series called Geek of the Week. Every Friday, we will investigate a new mind-boggling and astonishing idea, tool, or discovery in the sciences.

This week, in order to stay consistent with our environmental awareness theme, we will scrutinize a very special plant known as hibiscus cannabinus, otherwise called kenaf.



Historically, kenaf flourished in Africa 3,000 years ago. In ancient Egypt, it was utilized as a dietary supplement, as well as a strong fiber for use in bags and sails. By the early twentieth century, Southern Europe was growing the crop. Today, the plant is cultivated in many countries and regions around the world.

Although kenaf is generally unknown, it has been used for decades in many industries. Currently, it is being used in the manufacturing of poultry litter, oil-spill absorbents, animal bedding, and packing materials. However, it's most useful quality may be that its fiber can be used as a cost-effective alternative to traditional wood fibers.

"Kenaf is a fiber source that cannot be ignored by newsprint manufacturers,"

-Don Soldwedel, chairman of Western Newspapers Inc.

In the 1960's, the Department of Agriculture investigated a plethora of different plants that could potentially replace wood fibers as a source of paper. After many successful studies, kenaf was selected as the most likely candidate. According to these studies, kenaf can grow to be fourteen feet within 4 months and produce an amount of fiber that is "3 to 5 times greater than the yield for Southern pine trees." These discoveries could have many far-reaching ramifications. By replacing kenaf as the main fiber resource for paper production, the pace of deforestation could be slowed or perhaps one day completely stopped.

For more information about kenaf, please refer to the links below:

• About the Kenaf Plant
• The Optimal Material to Make Paper: Kenaf
• Kenaf: Taking Root?
• New Uses for Kenaf

If you have managed to read to this point, we would like to offer you a hearty "thank you!"

Remember, Geek of the Week is every Friday. See you next week!

Camelot

Camelot demonstrates all of the features of an old classic musical. It has a few of those songs that everyone remembers but has no idea where they are from, it is a conflicting love story with a little bit of betrayal splashed in, and adding to the pot a one scene wizard, now you'd have quite a mix! But compared to the more modern musicals of late, audiences will be bored before the second act, and will question why one of the only real dancing scenes is centered around a month ( may). For those who appreciate simply old style musicals, Camelot has a lot to offer with beautiful music such as "I loved you once in silence", but in terms of keeping the audience hooked.... well let us just say that Camelot could learn a little from sticky tac. As a last comment, the ending felt rushed and left the audience puzzled.

Eco tunes

As my first blog post I'm going to start with a tip for ecofriendly living. One easy way to save the planet is to download music off the internet instead of buying CDs. Did you know that 40 thousand tons of CDs are added to landfills every month? Downloading music is also less expensive! When purchasing items from Itunes.com people save approximently $5.00 per album. That adds up! So the next time you are in the mood for for a melody think green!