All posts by HPSH Plaid Line

Baseball

The 2020 World Series

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By: Caden Ligman

So far, 2020 has been a series of unfortunate events. Since March, the pandemic has affected everyone’s lives and we have lost many things, including sports. However, by the end of the summer, all major sports leagues in the U.S. were able to return. Leagues such as the NBA and the NHL thrived under the new COVID protocols, reporting very few cases throughout the season.

MLB on the other hand struggled with 104 cases being reported among players during the regular season alone. Despite all of the struggles, MLB finally concluded their unusual season after game 6 of the World Series, on October 27.

The 2020 World Series was played between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won the 7 game series after winning game 6 and going up on the Rays, 4 games to 2.

Game 6 however, seemed to be going in the favor of the Rays. Their starting pitcher, Blake Snell, was hot through six innings; throwing 9 strikeouts and only allowing two hits and one earned run. Snell looked ready to dominate the rest of the game.

Then, in the sixth inning, Ray’s head coach Kevin Kash pulled Snell from the game, replacing him with Nic Anderson. This decision proved to be quite controversial, and was evidently the turning point for the Rays in game 6. Nick Anderson immediately gave up a run and was pulled shortly after.

The Dodgers winning the World Series during these unusual times was exciting, however, the biggest headline of the night came from Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner.

Late into game 6, he was mysteriously pulled from the game. It later emerged that he had actually tested positive for COVID-19. Turner was isolated immediately after he was pulled, however, after the game, he was seen on live TV celebrating with his teammates out on the field.

This carelessness, by the players and coaches in the Dodgers organization, capped off a roller coast of a season for the MLB: 43 regular season games cancelled, and 104 positive cases in players (by far the most of any of the major sports leagues).

Hopefully, MLB can walk into the 2021 season more prepared.

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Tech/Games

The effects of social media on its users

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By Irene Cohen and Ellie Mulvaney

In this day and age, it’s no secret that social media takes up most of our time. People of all ages are devoting so much of their lives to scrolling and posting that it has become second nature to the majority of the population. However, now that entertainment is just the click of a button away, what happens to our patience to be interested in real life situations? Technology may be very detrimental to our attention spans, especially as its use becomes more and more ingrained into society.

To put this effect into perspective, let’s look at just how big social media is. ‘Statista’ reports that, in America alone, 244 million people used social media as of 2018. That’s approximately 79% of our total population helping to rake in roughly a $6.7 billion dollar revenue for last year. This industry is obviously thriving, which means that more and more users are affected by it.

A California University study, conducted by Larry D. Rosen, l. Mark Carrier, and Nancy A. Cheever, exemplified the obstruction of attention by social media in a group of students. They were reported to study, on average, for only 6 minutes before switching to technology, and, further, the students on Facebook were even recorded to have lower GPAs than their counterparts.

With the addition of social media for mainstream consumption, it’s become a staple distraction for people performing tasks like homework, as exemplified in the aforementioned research. People have become used to quickly moving visuals and easily changed subjects at their fingertips, leaving a need for breaks and distractions during longer and more tedious activities.

Students who need to complete their studies are finding it harder and harder to concentrate, as they are so used to social media, and therefore, a generation with lower attention spans and work ethic is being made.

The sheer amount of information that social media can provide for one single person is more than any piece of media has been able to in the past. Since there is so much information packed into small frames of people’s time, those who consume a lot of social media have trained themselves to focus on things for a shorter amount of time so that they can ingest more content. In fact, according to ‘Griffin Webstudios’ the average attention span of someone in the year 2000, was 12 seconds, compared to now where it has dropped all the way down to 8 seconds.

That’s not the only place we can acutely measure this decrease in attention span among social media users. Studies have shown that those who use different social media for short bursts of time, alternating between them, have actually been shown to have less grey matter in the brain in areas associated with attention and concentration.

Social media platforms and influencers are fighting hard to maintain viewer retention when their viewers have gotten used to such a quick delivery of information. Many people suspect this factor has been a great help in popularizing the social media app, TikTok. These bite sized videos are easy for someone to watch quickly and in huge volumes.

Social media’s influence has shortened the attention span of its users, and this can be shown in many different scientific studies. This decrease in attention span has affected many areas of people’s everyday lives. However, this relationship is not a one way street. This decrease in attention span has forced social media platforms to alter their formats so they can maintain viewership for a longer amount of time.

National

Issues with the 2020 presidential election

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By: Anna Hisle

The 2020 presidential election was a very stressful one. Election year is usually nerve wracking, but the 2020 election was even more nerving than most.

With the pandemic and the important election, there are many issues that occurred. 

Pictures of Ballots

One issue was people taking pictures of their ballots. While this is always an issue, it was especially dominant this year. Because of the pandemic, according to “Pew Research Center”, half of the people in the 2020 election mailed in ballots.

While in some states, it is completely legal to take pictures of your ballot, according to “VOX”, in more than half of the U.S. states, it is illegal.

Because it is illegal to take pictures of your ballot in some states, some ballots could become invalid.

So, always make sure to check if you’re allowed to snap a selfie with your ballot before you do it, so it is counted.

See the image below to know if it’s legal for you to take a ballot selfie.

Not mailing ballots in time

Due to COVID, people weren’t as willing to go to vote in person this election year.

Mail in ballots are normal during elections but this year, many more people than usual have mailed in ballots instead.

Since it was some people’s first time mailing in ballots, they did not know how early to mail them. 

Also, due to the amount of mail in ballots, the USPS, and mailing services, were overwhelmed. 

Due to the fact that so many people were mailing in ballots, some of them might not have been correct, or they might not have arrived on time, or been counted. 

If you mailed in your ballot, you had to make sure that it arrived before the deadline. Some people didn’t notice if it never arrived, or if it was sent in too late. If you didn’t receive a message/confirmation your vote arrived, or your vote didn’t arrive in time, then your vote was most likely not counted. 

These things cause many voters to not actually have their vote counted. While the chances of this actually affecting the election are slim, it is still better to make sure your votes are counted.

Before mail in voting, always make sure you have enough time to send in the ballot. 

While where were more issues that occurred during this election, these were the most important, and most common ones, that arose. 

Be smart voting and be heard!

Gymnastics

USAG’s culture of abuse

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By: Elizabeth Woxland

For over two decades, over 370 gymnasts (primarily minors) encountered sexual abuse “by gym owners, coaches, and staff working for gymnastics programs across the country,” according to an interview in ‘Vice’. Throughout those years, USAG silenced the gymnasts and continued to ignore the reports of molestation, specifically by a USAG doctor, Larry Nassar, who is now named in hundreds of lawsuits for engaging in sexual abuse.

Over 265 women came out to the public, addressing the abuse they faced, which became one of the largest sexual abuse scandals in sports history. This scandal led to the questioning of USAG’s way of training their gymnasts.

After the first allegations of sexual abuse were brought to the attention of USAG, Nassar continued to work for many months after. Maggie Nichols, the athlete who took part in the first allegation, was secretly taken out of the public eye for representing USAG. Many believe Nichols would’ve competed in the 2016 Olympics if she didn’t come forward with her sexual abuse. Nichols’s specific situation was detailed in the Netflix movie ‘Athlete A’ and she was also  interviewed by NBC.

Other abuse scandals started to arise after the sexual abuse scandal was brought to the public. Bela and Martha Karolyi are head coaches for USAG, and are now facing backlash for their abusive way of coaching.

The training that the girls in USAG have is now being criticized for a toxic culture and unsafe way of training. The average competitive gymnast for USAG trains year round for as much as 12 hours a day.

It was a very regular thing for girls injuries to be overlooked. In a ‘PE’ article they state: “Nine out of every 10 gymnasts we interviewed said that they had continued to train on injuries that resulted in broken bones or surgery or that they had resumed training without getting clearance from a doctor.” Think of the so-called “inspiring moment” when Kerri Strugg broke her leg on her first vault, and her coaches convinced her to still do a second vault.

This goes to show the toxic culture of winning at all costs in the mindset of USAG coaches and
trainers.

Advice/How To

Is it worth it to get a waterbed?

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By: Jimmy Somerville

Today I am asking the question: Is it worth it to get a waterbed in 2020?

I have slept in a waterbed for around a year, pretty much every night, so I will be telling you if it’s worth it or not from my own personal experience (so this will be pretty much all opinion based).

First off, I got the water bed in Christmas of 2018 because I wanted it after randomly getting the idea of wanting one. My dad thought it was a cool idea and we never really told my mom until it arrived, which she was not happy about. We found a waterbed on Amazon for, I think around $50-$60 bucks, so pretty cheap for a bed.

Filling the waterbed up was no easy task, as my dad had to buy supplies from Home Depot in order to get the water from the bathroom sink into my bed which are probably around 15 feet away from each other.

Once it was set and situated, it was very comfortable, and felt really good, although it felt strange at first lying on it as water was moving around and I could hear it.

I believe it is noticeably comfier than a normal mattress.

One complaint I had is that we didn’t want to buy a waterbed heater because that would get expensive, so I layered the water bed up with a couple blankets and I still got slightly cold by the chilly water.

Eventually, I wanted to move out of my brother’s room into my own room, so I had to leave the waterbed, but part of the reason I moved was because my lower back started hurting, which I thought could be because of the water bed. Once I switched beds, my back did stop hurting after a month. It could’ve just been a coincidence, because it was never any serious pain but I think the water bed was at least a partial cause of the back pain.

To answer my original question, I do believe it can be worth it to get a waterbed because it is very comfortable and surprisingly cheap, but it can get annoying easily and it may have caused back pain for me, but actually, many websites say it is supposed to help relieve back pain, so who knows.

At the end of the day, I’d rather sleep in a waterbed over a regular mattress 4 times out of ten, so technically, I prefer a normal mattress. And we never bought a frame for the waterbed, so it sort of rounds at the side of it which I imagine made it less appealing and perhaps less comfortable.

Thanks for reading!
-Jimmy Somerville

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Getting To Know/History

What is money laundering?

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By: Caden Ligman

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crimes estimates that annually, up to $2 trillion was made from illegal businesses globally. In the U.S. alone, this number is about $300 million, about two percent of the US’s economy. However, in order to cover up this illegal revenue, criminals hide their money. In order for them to actually be able to access their money they must be able to hide, and move their funds. Therefore, criminals resort to money laundering.

Money laundering is the process of cleaning illegally obtained money from its criminal origins. Placement, layering, and integration are the three basic steps involved in money laundering.

Placement is when Illegally made money is invested into companies or operations that seem legitimate. This is done by depositing large amounts of money into a bank account by posing as someone else. Depositing large amounts of money into a bank account however can raise suspicions among the feds.

The second step is layering. Layering is the process of distancing the funds from their origin. For example, someone who is laundering money might purchase real estate or expensive cars. This allows money launders to store their wealth in assets.

The last step, which is integration, Is the process of re-entering the money into the economy so that it can be spent or invested. Money launderers may invest in a legal business where they will claim payment by producing fake invoices that were never actually paid.

Money laundering has potential devastating economic, and social consequences. America’s greatest threats, such as drug dealers, terrorists and arms dealers, use money laundering to grow their operations. According to a report done by the U.N., laundering costs countries around the world $800 billion to $2 trillion each year. Money that is laundered also goes untaxed which results in higher taxes for average citizens.

There are also social effects money laundering has, money laundering also drives up the cost of government because of the need for extra law enforcement.

Today, the United Nations, and national governments, fight against money laundering, yet this practice still plays a major role in global crime. Not only have individuals practiced money laundering, but governments and high ranking officials have as well. No one knows for sure the total amount of money laundered around the world each year, but some believe it to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

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Science/Nature

Global warming over the past 100 years

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By Nora Doyle and Liv Miller

Global warming, by definition, is the unusual rapid increase in the earth’s average surface temperature over the past century. There are many different views and opinions regarding climate change and how much of an impact it has, or will cause, on the earth. Whether we choose to believe it or not, global warming is a huge issue affecting our earth and it’s only getting worse, and needs to be resolved.

To break it down, there are certain gasses in the atmosphere called greenhouse gasses. According to Biologicaldiversity.com, those gasses allow shortwave radiation from the sun to pass through the atmosphere and warm the Earth’s surface. The energy that then radiates from the surface is called “long wave radiation”. That radiation is trapped in by the greenhouse gasses and then warms the land, oceans, and air. This whole process is called “the greenhouse effect”. The greenhouse effect is not bad in itself, it actually is what keeps our earth warm, and we wouldn’t be able to survive without it. It’s when coal, oil, and natural gasses are burned at such a high rate that start to create a problem because they are sending enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that can’t be absorbed quickly enough. This is what is causing global warming.

Scientists have said that global warming most likely started around the late 1800s, but recently, they have been led to believe that it could have started even before that, around the early 1800s.

As far as to when it was discovered, there were many people who had findings of global warming, but their ideas weren’t fully processed so it never was made public. There were many events that led up to how global warming was made an issue. There was never a breakthrough to some long awaited mystery as to why the earth was getting warmer, as much as multiple scientists, mathematicians, etc. were piecing together findings over the years. But according to Theguardian.com, there was a Swedish chemist by the name Svante Arrhenius who “became the first to quantify carbon dioxide’s role in keeping the planet warm. He later concluded that burning of coal could cause a “noticeable increase” in carbon levels over centuries.” So, if you are searching for a founder there’s your guy.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, the August 2020 average global land and ocean surface temperature was +0.94 degrees celsius (1.69 degrees F) above the 20th century average of 12.7 degrees C (54.9 degrees F). This year’s temperature increase is the second highest temperature since global records began in 1880. Only August 2016 was warmer with an average temperature of +0.98 degrees C (1.76 degrees F). Since 1880, the global temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees C or 1.4 degrees F.

Why should we be concerned about a 1 degree increase in global temperature? Well, according to ‘The World Counts,’ “global temperature primarily depends on the amount of energy it receives from the sun and how much of it is radiated back into space.” The numbers should barely, if even at all, change, unless there is another factor “affecting the change in temperature. The amount of energy that the planet radiates back into space is dependent upon the chemical composition of our atmosphere – like greenhouse gases.”

So if this is such a disaster, what are we doing about it now? Short answer; clearly not enough. Although, according to ‘National Geographic,’ countries around the world did acknowledge that they needed to do something about climate change back in 2015 with the Paris Agreement. This agreement was to make pledges to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

Scientists are also currently “working on ways to sustainably produce hydrogen, most of which is currently derived from natural gas, to feed zero-emission fuel cells for transportation and electricity. Other efforts are aimed at building better batteries to store renewable energy.”

People are switching to solar powered energy as well. There are many organizations that are trying their best to raise awareness and collect donations to stop climate change. If more people believed in it and participated, we could maybe start to see some real change.

Another topic of discussion is about what happens if we do something about climate change and why we should. We should take action against climate change because it affects our oceans, our weather, our food sources, and our health. Sheets of ice like in Greenland and
Antarctica are melting. The new water from melted glaciers causes sea levels to rise and spill out of the oceans causing floods. Warmer temperatures cause extreme weather. This extreme
weather includes droughts that make it harder to grow crops. Water supplies are limited for plants and animals. If we don’t do anything about it, all of these things will get much worse,
putting all lives on earth at danger.

Advice/How To

What is mental health?

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By: Grabe Blumer-Lamotte

According to MentalHealth.gov their definition of mental health is, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act.”

If you experience certain mental health problems over the course of your life, your thinking, feelings, behavior, and mood could be changed. There are many factors that can lead to mental health problems, including: biological factors such as genes, and the way your chemicals in your brain work; life experiences, like trauma and/or abuse, and finally, any past mental health problems in your family. 

Some early symptoms, according to MentalHealth.gov, can consist of, “Eating or sleeping too much or too little, pulling away from people and usual activities, having low or no energy, feeling numb or like nothing matters, feeling helpless or hopeless, smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual, feeling angry, upset, worried, or scared, yelling or fighting with family and friends often, experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships, having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head, thinking of harming yourself or others, inability to perform daily tasks.” If you have any of these early symptoms I strongly suggest talking to a trusted adult about making an appointment with your doctor to talk about them. 

Everyday people that struggle with mental health problems are often told: that they are “faking it,” “it’s just a mental thing,” “that is something you decide to have,” and many more little comments that are very degrading to the mental health community. Making those comments not only hurts the person you said it to, but it also makes the mental health community less important. You are stating that everyone that has a mental health problem is just faking it and they can just fix it right away.

If you are in need of help the numbers given below could help save a life.

  • National helpline, 800-662-HELP (4357)
  • Child abuse, (800) 422-4453
  • Suicide Prevention hotline, (800) 273-TALK (8255)
  • Rape, Sexual Assualt, Domestic Violence, and Incest helpline, (800) 656-HOPE
  • Eating Disorder helpline, (800) 931-2237
  • Planned Parenthood hotline, (800) 230-PLAN (7526)
Science/Nature

Burning wastes and its effects

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By Olivia Kendle

Many people think that it is a good idea to burn trash rather than put it in a landfill. Many parts of the country have waste incinerators to burn much of their trash. This article will look at how waste incinerators might not be the best way to handle trash.

First of all, the economics of incinerators might not be as good, because they are more expensive to run, and they are risky investments. Tip fees, which are the fees paid by the trash haulers, are more expensive than the alternative of composting and/or recycling. In one city, they discovered that recycling $18 per ton, and incineration cost $50 dollars per ton.  

Incinerators are also another form of environmental injustice. The people working and living by the incinerators are often exposed to toxic pollutants such as mercury and lead. They release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and also dangerous ash. Also, many people with low-incomes end up coming to work at incinerators.

There are 76 incinerators around the country, out of 23 states that have made incinerators legal. In many states, incinerators are classified as “renewable” energy. According to the Institute for Local Self- Reliance; “The perverse designation of incineration as ‘renewable’ subsidizes a practice that wastes energy, kills jobs, and produces toxic pollution.” By recycling and composting, etc., you are opening jobs for others, but also creating a safer and healthier environment for you and everyone else around you. 

So, as you can see, incinerators are not only hurtful to the environment but to people and creatures around it. They are more expensive than just recycling or composting and they don’t really make renewable energy. We should take another look to see if we want to use waste incinerators over other healthier ways to dispose of our trash.

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Advice/How To, Travel/Food

How to make better burritos 

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By: Quentin Miller

So, you want to make a better burrito, well I’m here to explain the best ways to improve the way you craft it. This isn’t a specific recipe, think of it more as an overall guide of how you’re doing a lot of things wrong. 

Well, the first thing you’re probably doing wrong is the tortilla. If I had to guess, you’re using a really thick doughy tortilla, stand up right now and go look at the brand of tortilla you’re using, if it’s Mission you’re already not doing good.

You’re going to want to start with a much thinner tortilla with more fat; it makes it stretchier and easier to fold. If you’re homemaking tortillas, first, good luck, and second, just experiment with flour and fat combinations until you get something that feels right for you.

Next thing you’re probably doing wrong, you’re probably just making hamburgers wrapped in a tortilla judging off how much spice there is.

Now, I’m not going to judge anyone for using store bought taco seasoning, because truth be told it actually isn’t that bad. But, it’s far from perfect.

So, you’re going to start with chili pepper as the body of your seasoning, from there, you’re going to add the following ingredients to your preference 

  • Cumin
  • Garlic/onion powder
  • Salt and ground black pepper (you can add a lot of salt if you’re into that)

Also, you’re going to want to add cayenne for extra spice. If you’re too weak to handle some spice, substitute for extra black pepper.

Finally, if you want even more spice, add some hot sauce. You’re going to want something very spicy because if you drown your pan in hot sauce it’s going to be too wet. My personal favorite choice is “Desert Creatures: Black Widow’s Kiss.” I add about 6-8 drops of this into my pan while I mix the seasoning and meat (full disclosure, I have an extremely high heat tolerance and should not be the standard for how much spice should be in your food).

We’re almost done here, only two steps left.

So, the filling of the burrito is surprisingly not important. You can use any meat you want really, chicken and ground beef are really the only options people consider and that’s for good reason.

For ground beef, make sure you brown it to your preference, you’re going to want it pretty much 100% brown.

Next, for vegetables, just do whatever you want. I like just onion, but any pepper isn’t bad and some weirdos like avocado, just do what you want and make sure it fits comfortably in the tortilla.

Once again, cheese is just a preference thing. I love myself some ghost-pepper jack but cheddar is just fine. Really, any cheese with cheddar-like properties (ability to melt and texture/consistency) works fine. 

Last step, folding your burrito.

Now, I’m not going to actually tell you how to fold it; if you don’t know how to I don’t know why you’ve read this far on a burrito improving guide – you need to go back to the basics.

Now, after you folded the burrito in a stable way, you’re going to get the pan you warmed your tortillas on. Get it very hot and sear the top and bottom of your burrito, this’ll seal the fold and add a mouth watering light crunch to the tortilla.

Congrats! You’re done now, if you followed every step you will now have the most spicy burrito possible. If you wussed out on a few of the extra spicy steps, you’ll still have a considerably better meal.

A lot of these techniques require a lot of trial and error, so don’t expect to get the perfect burrito first try! Just keep trying and eventually you’ll be making burritos like a pro.