January,22nd, 2009
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Dear Stanley,
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Your problem is a very common one and often many teen's find themselves in that situation. Climbing a mountain is not easy. I myself have been in this dilemma before and it seems like you just can't solve it. But since they're your friends, then it can be resolved with a simple conversation.

To tell you the truth, the decision is completely up to you. I wouldn't climb a mountain because I know for a fact that I can't climb, although if you think you can handle it, then go for it. Peer pressure is a very big thing these days, and if you want to overcome it, then just don't pay attention to it.

My suggestion is you speak to your friends, let them know about your fear and maybe they will understand. You could also just not go to this trip and plan another one at a different time, but make be(unnecessary) sure to ask your friends if your plans are acceptable, so they don't go through what you are going through right now.If I had more information about your situation, for example what mountain you are climbing, or if there would be medics, then it's(gr.) completely different

You've heard my advice, but it's up to you. Also if you never try to climb a mountain, then you'll never learn how. If you do decide to climb the mountain, then many years from now you can say you overcame your fear and succeeded.

Good Luck,
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Matthew Vardi

Very good work. (100)
Daphna.

The War Against Terror

Put yourself in Israel's position. Live the life that we are living, and feel the way we feel. How can the rest of the world be so ignorant? The life the people of Sderot live to me isn't life. Everyday the citizens of the south hear sirens that warn them that a threat is near. I'm a 15 year old American boy living in Israel, and I had no idea wars were this frightening. The rest of the world treats this like its nothing, and even have the guts to say we should stop. The Israeli Defence Forces are defending Israeli citizens from death. Day by day,night by night, the bombs just wont stop as long as the Hamas is still at large. From what I hear on the news the IDF is working at their best and we are even recruiting volunteers that are willing to help. We have some enourmous support from the USA but its not enough because many countries still believe that we are engaged in an unjustified and unnessecary war against innocent children and women.

Hey Danny,

How's the family, I heard your brother got into Harvard University, so please tell him congratulations from me. You're not going to believe what happened a few nights ago at a New York Knicks basketball game. I was so shocked that I couldn't even speak!


Okay, so I was talking to Matt about basketball when he brought up the topic, Why don't we go to a game? I was surprised he even offered, he usually always has something to do. I said yes without even thinking about it. The game began at 8:00 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, The New York Knicks Vs. The Boston Celtics. As you may know, halftime shows are very popular because they're so entertaining and funny. You never know what they're going to do tonight, for example, in one game they show the audience a man doing slam dunks and in the next game there is a 5 year old boy break dancing.


During halftime, fans are able to get out of their seats and go to the court. Obviously not on the court but they can go near the hoop, but as long as they stay off the court. Tonights halftime show was a group of cheerleaders doing a routine. Towards the end of their routine while me and Matt were still in our seats, we looked at the court and there is a man running without a shirt on interfiering with the dance, shouting "Go Knicks, Go Knicks!". The fact that he even got through security is fascinating. He was immedeatly escorted off of the premesis and banned from Madison Square Garden.


I just thought that I should share this funny experience with you, and i hope you would write back to me with a funny story of yours. Can you imagine? Running across the court in the middle of a halftime show on national television? How embarrasing! I was so shocked that Matt and I were cracking up at the same moment. What are the ods that the basketball game that Matt chose to go to turned out to be the one with the best halftime show in history probably.

From Matt,
Hope you write back soon!

The topic i chose to discuss is: Types of Clocks

The Sun Dial

Many cultures and many discoveries were lost in history. The Egyptians however, are thanked today for revealing to us the basic way of telling time. They used a similar base for hours. but instead of 12 hours, they had 10 hours and 2 twilight hours. The way the Sun Dial worked is quite impressive for an ancient civilization. An obelisk was placed infront of the sun dial and according to the shadows it would create on the dial, people told time. The only flaw it had was that during afternoon hours it had to be turned 180 degrees. The Egyptians also discovered that by using the Sun Dial they can tell which hours of the day are longest and shortest.

The Mechanical Clock

Galileo Galilei Is known for being the first person to invent the pendelum clock, although he did not live long enough to build it. Instead, a dutch scientist around 80 years after took the time to build it, It came just as intended although there was one disadvantage. That disadvantage was that the clock was short less than one minute a day. Despite the fact that one minute is a pretty long time, it was a major success in the development of clocks. Later in time, that time gap was reduced to a 100Th of a second.

Source:
http://www.time-for-time.com/clocks.htm