Skateboarding Fun or Dangerous?

During 2020 we’ve had some pretty serious crazy things happen to all of us. Like Covid-19, natural disasters, BLM riots, etc. Over quarantine, we’ve all been bored at home. There’s nothing to do unless your mom says “you can always clean” which is never fun. However, there are things people can do. Like go outside, be productive, and hang with friends. Skating is one of my favorite things to do.

Skating is a productive thing to do. It’s easy to learn and fun as well. There are different types of skates. Skateboards, Quad skates, rollerblades, tri skates, etc. It’s enjoyable and you can go out with friends and do it with them. I encourage users who have never skated before to wear protection guard. It is important to have fun and stay safe as well. In the time span of two-decades researchers have documented 64,000 kids/teens who have been in skateboarding accidents. those are just the documented ones who knows how many more there are that haven’t been documented. Though injuries can occur it doesn’t stop most people from riding with the wind.

It is very important to always watch what’s around you. There are more things going on around you than you think. always be prepared for any occasion. Some things I insist on bringing: Water, bandages, a rag (for sweat), a fan necklace (runs off of batteries), Your phone in case of emergencies, a friend, and protection gear. Always be prepared because you never know what situation you’re going to be in. Something that has always helped me is staying in an empty parking lot or somewhere that’s isolated. Less danger will occur if there’s no one around.

If your not a skater and you’re interested here’s some steps and tips to get you to be a better skater:

  1. Put your skateboard on a patch of grass
  2. Put your feet in the right position.
  3. Jump on and off, lean forward and backward
  4. Start learning how to push.
  5. Learn how to curve.
  6. Learn to ride fakie.

It’s important to learn how to stand and what position to be in first before you take off. I cannot stress enough to beginners how IMPORTANT it is to wear protective gear. You can get seriously injured. Curving is an important step without curving you can’t turn. Turning is also important because you don’t wanna be going straight. The whole time you’ll run into something. If you’re a beginner do NOT start downhill. You’ll lose balance and hurt yourself. Always either start on grass or smooth pavement that is LEVEL!

The most important gear for yourself is your helmet! You need to keep your brain safe. Be careful when going downhill, turning, going across streets, going to skate parks, etc. if you do happen to fall a good way to fall is to stop, cover your head, and role. If you succeed in gaining your balance back then fetch your skateboard. Though if you end up falling depending on the way you feel you may have minor injuries. If you wear a helmet it will decrease the chance significantly of getting an injury on your head. Wear a strong helmet that’s good quality.

Common skateboarding injuries are cuts, bruises, broken bones, sprains, and strains. Fatal injuries are broken nose or jaw. severe injuries also include concussions. Any ages from 6-10 years old need a parent or guardian with them!

So in conclusion skateboarding is fun and dangerous! It’s not too terribly hard to do. Just put your mind to your goal and accomplish it!

Take quiz down below. Review your score to see what you got right!

http://www.quiz-maker.com/QYK5KZ33N

Coronavirus “Pandemic”

Is the coronavirus worthy of being classified as a pandemic?

A pandemic can be described as a virus outbreak that occurs in several countries. The coronavirus has in fact affected many different countries over the 2020 year. However, in my opinion, the coronavirus should not be considered a pandemic for multiple reasons. First, other viruses have killed far more people than the coronavirus has. Second, the survival rate is far higher than the chances of a person dying from it and third, most of the people who are dying from “COVID-19” also happen to have other underlying factors that have been the root cause of their death. We know the so-called “pandemic” was started in china, then slowly made its way to the united states, and the rest of the world. We also know that because of the coronavirus life took a major turn that no one could ever have predicted or expected. According to the Center for Disease Control, there are roughly 231,000 deaths from COVID-19 so far. However, what they do not tell you is how many of those deaths happened solely because of the coronavirus. As I stated before, a lot of the deaths centered around coronavirus have had other serious underlying conditions and some of those only tested “positive” for COVID-19 at the time of death. Which means it may or may not have contributed to the death itself. Classifying a death as due to coronavirus is inflation unless it is stated that it “contributed” to the cause of death and not the actual cause itself. For example, if a person dies of a heart attack; and they tested positive for the coronavirus; the virus is not what actually killed them, but it could have contributed to the cause of death. It could have, but that does not mean that it did.

In Calhoun County, the Center for Disease Control reports that 65 deaths have resulted from COVID-19. How can they classify a death as COVID-related, if the person had diabetes, a heart attack, or some form of cancer that was the actual cause of their death. From what I have seen, it is a little worse than the flu and some people are more sensitive to it than others (which does not differ at all from any other virus). Some people get the flu and they have nothing more than the common cold and others feel like they are going to die they get it so bad. I think the coronavirus is the same way. Some people are lucky enough to not have any symptoms and others get it really bad. According to the Center for Disease Control, “Excess deaths are typically defined as the difference between the observed numbers of deaths in specific time periods and expected numbers of deaths in the same time periods; this visualization provides weekly estimates of excess deaths by the jurisdiction in which the death occurred.” On the one hand we have the coronavirus that has everyone scared to even go out in public without a face mask (or go period) and on the other we have people who do not care at all. The difference between the coronavirus and the other viruses is that the coronavirus is supposedly more easily contractible from person to person. If the virus is highly contagious, as it has been said it is, then why are businesses opening back up to the public? Why are churches closed, but bars are open? Why are people allowed to go in restaurants and take off their masks to eat, but asked to leave their masks on when they enter banks, department stores, or other such places of business. If you ask me, either the masks are a necessity regardless of the business type or they are not. It is just as easy for people to order meals, pick them up, and take them home to eat without having to stay for an extended period of time and remove masks where they could be “spreading” the virus.

To be perfectly transparent, I do not think the coronavirus should be considered a pandemic. Personal hygiene has always played a role in preventing the spread of diseases. The fact that people are really emphasizing the hand sanitizer, masks, and social distancing is nothing new. In Japan, (which I lived from 2008 to 2011) it was nothing to see several people walking around with face masks on. They are already preventing the spread of disease long before the coronavirus happened. The American people should take a page from the Japanese book. It would not have been blown out of proportion if those measures had already been in place and people were considerate of others and preventing the spreading of diseases; not just the coronavirus.

RESOURCES

Center for Disease Control (2020). In Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19. Retrieved on 3 November 2020 from www.cdc.gov

Center for Disease control (2020). In Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination. Retrieved on 3 November 2020 from www.cdc.gov

Hunting The Humans

By Tamryn Anderson

“The Most Dangerous Game” written by Richard Connell consists of two characters. Rainsford and Zaroff. Zaroff hunts Rainsford and he can’t do anything about it. Zaroff is so dangerous it’s why it’s called “The Most Dangerous Game.” The text I chose that I thought was most like this one was “Putting A Dollar Value On Life? Governments already do.” This relates in one way to “The Most Dangerous Game.” It talks about human life value. Zaroff only hunted Rainsford because Zaroff got bored with hunting animals because they have no “feelings.” So he decided to hunt humans. I think I can relate this to another text “Qualities of a Narcissistic Sociopath” He clearly needs help if he’s hunting people. That’s not a normal thing someone would think is ok. One last text I thought related to this story was “What Happens in the Brain When We Feel Fear?” I believe that Rainsford felt fear and that gave him instinct on what to do. I also believe he struggled during this time and was overwhelmed and he didn’t know what to really do. So in a way, I could relate any of these articles with “The Most Dangerous Game.”