Friday, February 28, 2014

Summary of 'A Mouse Deer and Crocodiles'

 One day, when a mouse deer was scavenging for fruits he saw a tree full of delicious durians across the river. But there was a crocodile who was resting underneath the tree. The mouse deer won't go to the tree because he was scared that the crocodile would eat him. So he came out with a brilliant idea.
The mouse deer ask the leader of the crocodiles to line up and he will count the crocodile because tiger, the leader, wants to have a party and want to prepare so he have enough food for the party. The crocodile agreed and lined up to the other side of the river. And then the mouse deer counted them to the last crocodiles. After that, the mouse deer thanked the crocodiles because they helped him crossed the river safely.

Moral value: Think smart, if there is a will there is way. There will be something that keeps you away from what you want, but don't give up. Just think and think again, and than you will find a way that can lead you to your goal.

Journal of Dewa Athena

On February 15th 2014, I went to Dewa Athena's opening ceremony. Dewa Athena itself is a sport competition that made by OSIS SMAN 3 Bandung and the participates are all the student from all the classes. There are many sports in this competition. There are basketball, futsal, tarik tambang, ping-pong, relay race, and even a digital sport game.
Okay, now I'm going to tell you what I did on that day. First, I'm arrived at Lapangan Bali at 9 am. Yeah, I know I was late but the opening ceremony itself wasn't began until about 30 minutes later. So i'm basically didn't come late haha. In the opening ceremony, there was a lot of people who gave speeches. The headmaster, Mister Dudi, the student's president, and many more. It was pretty boring so I didn't listen to what they said. I mean, who doesn't get bored to that kind of thing? Everyone does, including me haha. After the speeches finally stopped, than the games began. My class got the relay race for the first game and I picked to be one of the runners. They picked me because there were only few people who were there. And so, the race begun. In the race, I got the first turn. When I was running to my teammate, suddenly my stick slipped and I dropped it. And because of that I had to picked it up again and of course I lost a lot of time there. By the time I gave the stick to my teammate, the other was already way ahead of me and in the end we lost the game. My teammate blamed me to be the one who screwed up and I agreed.
After that, because there was nothing left to do, I watched the other classes. I watched this basketball game that was so exicitng, the teams are evenly match and the scores were always catching up. I also watched my class played futsal, but only the girls. The scores with the opponent were same so there had to be penalty kicks. In the end, my class lost again. What a bad luck that day. But wish us lucky for the next games.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Pacific Salmon Migration

Pacific salmon species vary in terms of their life cycles. Some spend hardly any time in natal streams; some spend years. Some mature at two years of age; some mature at five. Some live for only a couple of years; others live for ten. And some, like Steelhead and Cutthroat, can even spawn more than once.
Despite all this variation, we can still make some general observations about the life stages of salmon.
The full Pacific salmon lifecycle from egg to adult.
All Pacific salmon are anadromous, which means they start in freshwater (streams, lakes, rivers, etc.), migrate to the ocean, then return “home” to spawn and die.
Adult spawners often journey for hundreds of miles to return to the waters their parents spawned in, and where they themselves were born.
If they make it back, eluding all sorts of obstacles, the males and females court, and ultimately breed. At the crucial moment, the male releases sperm and the female releases eggs ... at precisely the same time!
The eggs and sperm float in a fog of milt to the bottom of the stream or lake bed where the female has painstakingly prepared a “redd” (aka nest), which, covered with gravel, will hopefully protect the eggs until they are ready to hatch.
While new salmon are preparing to enter the world, their parents die (usually only days after spawning). Their bodies remain in the water or along the shore to decay and/or be eaten by other species. In this way they continue to nourish the environment around them.
image
This salmon has spawned and died in the Adams River. It will continue to contribute to the ecosystem around it.Photo: Adams River Salmon Society
Egg
Some of the thousands of eggs that the female has released will be successfully fertilized by the male’s sperm. The eggs begin their chance of life as salmon, though they are very fragile and many eggs will be destroyed. This is why habitat protection is so important to salmon stocks.
image
Chinook alevins hatching.
Inside the egg is an embryo and a yolk which feeds it. For a while, the embryo has enough oxygen inside the egg, but as it grows, it needs more. Finally it reaches the breaking point and struggles free of its egg shell, though not yet discarding its yolk. It is now an alevin.
Alevin
Alevins’ yolk sac contains sufficient nutrition for their early development. They remain under the gravel for protection against predators until their yolk sac is fully absorbed. It is virtually impossible to see alevin in the wild!
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Salmon fry are little guys, and they’re favourite snacks for many predators. Photo: Adams River Salmon Society
Fry
Once it has absorbed its yolk, the alevin becomes afry. Small and vulnerable, fry spend a lot of their time avoiding predators. They head for dark pools in protected spots (e.g., behind logs) and dart out only to catch and eat any organic matter that comes their way. When they feel the urge, they begin their migration toward the ocean (see Species for the different migratory patterns that characterize each species).
Smolts
To manage the transition between freshwater and saltwater, salmon fry must go through a physical change known as smolting. Smolting begins in freshwater and sees the young salmon through the estuaries and into the ocean when it is time. Smolts have a silvery coating over their scales to camouflage them from predators and shield their bodies from fresh to saltwater.
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This Adams River couple has achieved salmon’s life purpose: to come together to spawn. Photo: Adams River Salmon Society
Adults
Salmon enter the ocean as young, or juvenile, adults and leave it as mature adults, ready to spawn. The length of time salmon spend in saltwater depends on how old they were when they entered, their species, marine conditions, and other factors. Their travels in the ocean are similarly variable, and one of the least understood parts of their lives.
When they are sexually mature (see Species  for maturity patterns of different species), salmon obey their homing instinct and travel back to their natal streams to spawn. It is an arduous journey, and only the toughest and luckiest salmon complete it.

Posted by Kiley Turner on 9/18


And this is the life cycle of salmon itself




Courtesy of (http://www.thinksalmon.com/learn/life_cycle/salmon_life_cycle/)

Monday, February 17, 2014

Going Back to Bali

Yeah, for six months I had been missing this place and finally I went there, haha. I spent 3 weeks of my holiday there, even the official holiday that the school gave was just for 2 weeks but I don't care. Rules are made to be broken, right? I went to Bali on 17th December and came back to Bandung on 7th January. And now I will tell you about what I've done in Bali.

First week in Bali, I spent it with my family because I missed them so much. I went to my favorite restaurants and ate all the things that I couldn't find in Bandung. There's one restaurant that my brother and I missed very much, and it's called "Genteng Biru". It serves the most delicious grilled duck that I've ever tasted. We ate a whole duck alone because it was very delicious and we missed it so much and there was many more restaurant that I visited. And because of that, in the first week I gained about 3 kilograms. But it was okay because I will lose 3 kilograms when I come back to Bandung.

The second week, I spent it for "alone time". I went to many places alone and just enjoyed the view. I went to Kuta beach to see a beautiful sunset and it was so amazing. I've never seen a sunset that's so beautiful except in this place. Its view and the atmosphere just made me so relax and made me questioned myself WHY DID I EVER WANTED TO LEAVE THIS PLACE??!! hhe, just kidding. I'm sure Bandung also have many beautiful places, but I just haven't found them yet. Back to Bali, I also visited Sanur Beach to see sunrise and many other places that I forget. But unfortunately it was rainy, so I hadn't enjoy this week very much.

For the last week, I spent it with my old friends. This is my favorite time of the holiday. I met my friends and they were not the same person that I knew when they're still in junior high school. There is my friend, Bagus, who just got much taller than the last time I met him. When he was in junior high school, his height just about my ear and now I'm the one who just about his ear-height. Than there is my friend, Maotama, who just got heavier voice. But one still didn't changed, they're still my friends. I spent this week with my friends, we went futsal, we went karaoke, and many things more. We spent the new year's eve in my friends house. We just hanging around, played guitar and sing till our throat hurts, we talked about our school, and anything that were in our mind. We did it till 2 in the morning and we just didn't want to stop, but what can we do? Our parents called us to get home, so we ended that night. The last night in Bali, I had dinner with my friends. That night, all my best friends were there. And after we finished, they made me to pay the bill all by my own. They told that it was my last night before I go back to Bandung and I have to give them a treat, so yeah I literally got robbed that night.

And the day had came, the day that I have to leave Bali, the day that ended the holiday, the day that made me to leave my friends and family. Hehhh..... Well, it's nice to see you again Bali. Just wait till I come back and I will bring new stories that I've made in Bandung. We'll meet again soon....

Announcement

For all students in SMAN 3 Bandung,

Dewa Athena Competition will be hold on 15th February 2014. Here is the list of the competition:

  • Basketball
  • Futsal
  • Tarik Tambang
  • Badminton
  • Ping-pong
  • Relay Race
  • Sports Game

All classes must register their team before 14th February 2014 to section 7 OSIS SMAN 3 Bandung.  The winner will get a trophy and prize. Thank you for your attention and good luck!