Speech Draft!

                                      Dangers of Fast Food

      Two double cheeseburgers, large fries and a large soft drink. That'll be a clogged artery and high cholesterol. Please pull up to the next window. Fast food. These unhealthy foods have made a permanent position in our lives. They're tasty, easy to access, and inexpensive. Fast food is one of the most common dangerous and unhealthy foods because it contains unhealthy ingredients and causes many health concerns. 

    You are just about to bite into that mouth-watering hamburger. Stop! Do you know what lurks inside of that burger? If you left a hamburger untouched for a couple of years, studies have shown that it will not become mouldy and will stay almost the same! This is because there are tons of preservatives in that burger. The meat is treated with carbon monoxide gas to keep it looking fresh and it comes from cows that have been shot with antibiotics to make it grow faster and bigger. These antibiotics are very harmful to the human body. Also, the cheese in the burger has been processed many times and will not give off any useful nutrients. In a plain hamburger, there are over 50 ingredients!

    If you consume too much fast food, you will have a higher risk of getting different illnesses such as obesity.  Obesity is one of the most common results of eating too much junk food. This usually isn't the consumer's fault. I mean, sure, they should hold back on the daily trips to McDonald's but it's the company that keeps coming out with super sized versions of everything. They will keep advertising and pressuring you to upgrade to the larger sizes. This results in more calories, therefore, more weight gain. We also underestimate the amount of calories in fast food so we tend to eat more because we think it will do no harm. Besides obesity, fast food can will raise your blood pressure, which can cause hypertension, which will lead to heart disease and kidney failure. Even gaining 11-18 pounds doubles your risk of getting type 2 diabetes, a serious blood disorder. 

    You only have one body. Take good care of it. Next time you head out to enjoy a Big Mac, think about how it can affect your body in the long run. 

Here is a video about how hamburgers don't mould in 4 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4IGtDPG4UfI

Speech Response

Driving on your way to an exciting Vancouver Canucks game; who will win, Canucks, or Chicago? As you imagine how the game will play out, you drive over the new 10-lane Port Mann Bridge, 2,020 metres long, over top of the Fraser River. What you may not be aware of is that as you’re crossing the widest bridge in the world, you are being tolled by an electronic system. I, Jarrod Vanthournout, am here today to talk to you about the toll on the new Port Mann Bridge. First off, I will tell you about why they tolled a bridge that is part of highway 1, the Trans-Canada highway. I will then tell you the pros and cons about the toll. Next I will tell you about the pricing; this is where I will talk to you about the prices of the toll, as well as how you can get a discount. Lastly I share my opinion about the toll on the Port Mann Bridge.

First things first, why did they toll the Port Mann Bridge. If they hadn't I wouldn’t have a speech, would I? Well the thing is the project cost approximately 3 billion dollars! Now that’s a lot of money. They tolled the bridge so they could pay off this project. The question is, was it the right choice?

Now I will talk to about the pros and cons of this tolling system. Let’s start with the pros. A really good part of the toll is that instead of stopping traffic at a booth the vehicles are in constant movement without needing to stop or slow down. They do this by taking a picture of license plates, then billing the owner of it. Also the bridge is always being used; this means that the bridge will be paid off faster than less used bridges. Unfortunately nothing is perfect. One of the problems with the tolling system is that there are flaws; some vehicles have been paid in a different category during different trips over the Port Mann Bridge. Another problem with the bridge is the cost.

Speaking of cost, let’s get to the prices of the toll. The current prices of the toll are following: 1.50 for a car, 75 cents for a motorcycle, 3 dollars for a small truck, and 4.50 for a large truck. I would like to note that these prices for 1-way, not over and back. However this December the toll rates will double, making going over the bridge even more expensive. To keep this discount you can sign up for Treo. Another way to not need to pay the toll is to take public transit, such as the skytrain, or the bus.

So I’ve talked to you about the bridge, but I never told you my thoughts on it. I don’t think the Port Mann Bridge toll is a good thing. It’s on the trans-Canada highway, which is a highway that goes all across Canada. Also some people’s lines of work require them to go over the bridge, and they can’t take public transit because it’s for their job! Imagine a home care nurse going on the bus with her bag of tools. Even though I disagree with the Port Mann Bridge toll, I do support the idea of tolling other bridges. The difference is that the other bridges have other ways, as well as lower prices on the toll itself.

Today I have talked to about the Port Mann Bridge toll. I have told you about why they tolled the bridge, as well as the pros and cons of them doing so. Also I have spoken about the prices of the toll, a way to get a discount, and I’ve even shared my own opinion with you. I now invite you all to make your own opinions on the toll. Who knows, it might even be when you’re crossing the bridge to a Canucks game.

Digital Life Response

After watching this video i realized how technology improved and how we are living within it.For example when i go to restaurant i see many people using their smartphone, even though restaurant is somewhere you talk and eat together. i think we are living with it too much. i see the news article how people uses their smartphone and electronics in the bed. it's one of the problem we have. it definitely affect us.

Video Killed the Radio Star Parody Response

The music video the history teacher made was amazing! First off I want to say that “Digital Life” sounds so much like “video killed the radio star”. Lots of the things said in the video are true, but not all. For example, I don’t have instagram on my iPod, but that doesn’t mean pictures I take on my camera (not my iPod camera) didn’t happen, or things I said didn’t happen. Comparing the 2 videos I see that both of the messages are about how technology is evolving. With “video killed the radio star” it talks about how when video came along the radio became less popular hence ‘video killed the radio star’. I also find this a bit ironic though; Buggle made a video about how video killed the radio star.

            With the increase of technology there is lots of controversy about whether or it’s good, or bad. Another controversy is whether or not schools should use more technology in classes. I definitely think that using technology in school is a good thing, but only to an extent. At the end of the video Amber Case said that she thought humans where becoming more like cyborgs. If we stop using books and paper in school the human race will most definitely become 'cyborgs'.

            Technology has become a huge part of our lives now. People are always on their phones, or on Facebook. I’ll admit that I also am on an electronic device much of the time, mostly playing games. This I can see is where people think electronics are bad, but there are even more good things about it. For example, the Internet is like a library, but it will always have the book you are looking for. I’ve also taken my love of video games and started making my own; and where did I learn this?  The Internet! With all the information we need to know technology is now a necessity in life, as too many people now rely on it for what they need or want to know. However, even though technology helps us greatly we also need to do other things that do not involve electronics.

Digital Life Response

My response can be found by clicking here.

Something to talk about!

The digital life video made by the teacher in Hawaii was interesting.The video projected a strong message of how technology has changed over the years and everyone knows its has, for the better or for the worst though!? Although its true that many people use the Internet lots over use it and only rely on the Internet for information, like the quote says "don't always believe everything you see on the Internet". All the kids these days use their phones constantly (even me) and sometimes post things that there are no need of being seen like, posting a picture on Instagram of what they had for breakfast! It's just a habit these days to always text and know what others are doing. I know i wouldn't be able to last three weeks without my phone, i almost think no one can. Almost most schools have iPads and iMacs now, little kids love technology and sometimes I don't think that we should be teaching them things on iPads they should learn on a whiteboard and other resources so they don't only rely on the Internet for everything. It's amazing how the Internet has progressed over the years! 

Response to Digital Life Video

The digital life video made by the History teacher in Hawaii was really impressive. The video consists of a message and the message is about how the internet has dramatically changed humans over the course of around 20 years. It explains how all we seem to care about these days is what's going on in the internet world and I absolutely agree with that. Almost everyone I know (including me) is constantly on their phones or computer checking what's going on on Facebook or what's trending on Twitter. I bet these people can't last a month without internet! Just today in Humanities class, Ms. Lees showed us a picture of a grade 1 class drawing a picture to go with the story we wrote for them. I was expecting them to draw on a piece of paper like we did when we were little. Instead, they were drawing on iPads and then I definitely knew that the world has changed into doing everything with technology.