The Universe

I was flipping through TV channels and I saw that on the discovery channel there was something on the universe and it caught my attention so I just decided to watch it.

It was a special about Stephen Hawking, and his thoughts on the universe. It was UNBELIEVABLE to see all of the things he was taking about from our galaxy to the billions and billions of other ones out there.

One of the things he talked about was the thought of life on other planets, and how it may be more likely than we all think. He started out by saying that if you look at the odds of having another planet with some form of life on it, the odds are very great. If you think about it we are in our own solar system that is part of a galaxy that has a billion other solar systems in it, and that galaxy is a part of a universe that has a billion billion other galaxy's in it. So if you take time to think about that for a second, it would NOT make sense to have all of that space and only have us on our tiny little planet be the only forms of life. To me that is astonishing and very cool and kind of scary at the same time. I mean what if there are other life forms out there, what are they like and will we ever meet them.

One more thing that he talked about during the special was the ability to travel through time. While its not possible now, it could be sometime in the future. He talked about how in order to travel through time you have to be able travel at the speed of light, which is impossible. But while it is impossible to travel at the speed of light you could get very close to that speed and still travel through time. One way to travel through time would be to get very close to a black hole, because they have the most mass of anything in our universe, and the closer you get to a black hole the slower you move. So if you were able to get very close to a black hole without falling into it, you could actually travel through time. An example he gave was that if you were to fly close to a black hole and orbit it for a week, when you got back to earth you would only have aged one hour. Another way to travel through time would be to build a sort of train system that circled the earth. He stated that if you could get the train to go almost as fast as the speed of light, which would mean it would have to circle the earth 7 times in one second, you could actually travel through time. He gave an example that said if you got on the train and stayed on it for 50 years traveling at that speed, you and whomever else were on the train would only have aged a week and when you got off while the world would be a lot different you would still be only a week older.

To me all of the things about the universe are mind blowing. I mean to think of how we got here, and how did everything start, and how will it all end, is something that is very interesting, if you actually take the time to think about it.

summer plans

OOOO its getting soooo close, only a few more days and then it will time for SUMMER!!!

My summers are usually very busy and filled with many fun times with friends and family. As for this summer I have already planned out a few things that i will have going on, but for the rest I usually just go with the flow.

While most of the time during the summer I try to have fun, I also work a lot, which isn't really that bad but its not as fun as hanging out with friends. I work at Eckerts Orchard in the produce department, so any time you need some fresh apples or peaches come by and see me. I have been working at Eckerts for 5 years now, and this year we are moving into our new store which is just up the hill from our current store. Its 2 times as big as our store now and its going to be much more up to date compared to the old store, which I will greatly appreciate.

While I do work a lot one thing that I am really looking forward to this summer is a trip that me, my cousin and another friend of ours are going on. We are going to a Baseball game in Kansas City to watch the Royals play the Cardinals. It is somthing that we are going to try and make an annual thing and go to different ballparks every summer. As for this trip we decided to go to one of the closer ballparks considering it was our first one. While we tried getting tickets to a Cards vs. Cubs game, we were unable to get them, so we decided on Kansas City. We are leaving on Friday June 25 and our going to watch that Fridays game and then the game on Saturday as well, and then come home on Sunday. I hope the win both of them but no matter what I'm sure we are going to have a great time.

So those are a few of my plans for this summer, which is just around the corner, what are a few of your plans?

NHL playoffs

Along with the start of the Cardinals season, the NHL playoffs are another great thing about this time of year. Although the St. Louis Blues didn't end up making it into the playoffs this year, I still enjoy watching the other teams compete at the top of their games. While the regular season is still very exciting to watch, there is nothing like an NHL playoff game. I mean the fans are so loud and every building is packed, and the game just seems to have a lot faster paced.

This year there are many great teams competing for the Stanley Cup, but the team I would like to see win it is the Phoenix Coyotes. The reason I would like to see them win it is because at the start of this season their team was bankrupt and lost their owners and was almost moved to another city. With all of that going on and the team not even having an owner, they managed to be the number four team in their conference out of eight. While I hope they win the Cup I really just enjoy watching every team play.

I have to say Hockey games are the greatest sporting events to attend and I guarantee you that you will have more fun at a hockey game than any other sporting event. So if you have never been to an NHL game I highly recommend you go to a BLUES game next year, you will have a great time.

Cardinals

FINALLY! Baseball season is here!!!!

One of my favorite things about summer is not only school getting out, but also watching the cardinals play baseball. During the summer, I think the greatest place to be is at a baseball game with friends, having a good time.

This year the cardinals have a great team, with many well known players. The one that everybody probably knows the most is a guy by the name of Albert Pujols. He is arguably the greatest player of all time and will, with out a doubt, be in the hall of fame someday. Along with Albert the cards have a lineup that includes other great hitters in Matt Holiday, Ryan Ludwick, and Colby Rasmus. With all four of these guys the cards should have one of the best teams in the league this year and hopefully win another World Series!!!!

Cardinals games are certainly a great place to go to during the summer and I'm sure I will be over there a lot.

LETS GO CARDS!!!

Movies

We all have our favorite movies, wether its funny, scary or a lill of both, that we love to watch when we have our free time. Over spring break while not working I was able to watch a bunch of movies with family and friends that I hadnt seen in a while. While most of the time I didnt get to pick the movie out, I did get to pick a few out and it was quite a fun time. Most of my favorite movies have to do with sports, because that is basically my life in general.

Here is my list of favorite movies......

1) Mystery Alaska
2) Major league
3) Slap Shot (all of them)
4) Miracle
5) The hangover

now thats just a few of my favorite movies, and trust me there are many more.

What are everyone elses favorite movies, that you enjoy watching?????

SPRING

SPRING TIME!!!! It feels like it is finally apon us and boy am I happy. I can not wait for spring to be here so I can put away my coats and get out my shorts, and enjoy the wonderful weather. Also with spring comes fun times outdoors with friends and family, some of my favorit things to do during the spring are swiming, playing baseball, and spending time up at the park with friends playing sand volleyball, tennis, basketball and just about anything else we can think of.

Another thing I enjoy doing during the spring is landscaping and other yard work. A buddy of mine and I often do landscaping and mow lawn around town when spring time comes for some extra money and I enjoy doing it, while it is hard work at times it is worth it in the end. Last year one of my many jobs was to build an inground pond. At first I thought it was going to be impossible, and while it took us awhile to finish, the pond came out looking great and it is now filled with many different kinds of fish.

So now that I have told you a little bit about the things I enjoy doing during the spring, what are a few things you all enjoy about this wonderful time of year?

Olympics

The olympics are finally here, and there should be many exciting events for everyone to watch. The event I am most looking forward to is the ice hockey, there are many great teams this year and it should be a great show. Of course I am cheering for the USA, but I would have to say that the Canadians are the clear favorite, but I think the Americans can pull off an upset.

So what is everyone elses favorite event to watch in the olympics? and who are you cheering for?

My favorite quote

"Find your place on the planet, dig in and take responsibility from there." Gary Snyder pg. 213

I really enjoy this quote because it is basically saying to find out what you were meant to do in life and take responsibility for your life and the things you do in it. In todays world I believe that to many people are worried about other peoples lives and whats going on with them, that they lose track of their own life. I feel that if everyone looked out for themselves first, and took responsibilty for their own lives, instead of trying to fix everybody elses, then the world would be a more suttle place. I feel like in order to help someone else out you have to know whats going on in your own life first, otherwise you will be just as lost as they are.

Hawks for Life

As some of you may know by now our fellow classmate Mason Webb and myself play together on a junior hockey team. But what many of you dont know is that me and Masons hockey careers go back way further to a time when we were both HAWKS.

Growing up me and Webb were on the same team and we were often on the same line, the ENFORCER/SNIPER line, thats right we pretty much did everything. We would put the fear into the other teams and then put the puck into the net. As 10 year olds we were the most feared players in Illinois.

If you would like any autographs just ask us in class or if you see us around the swic campus.

Life of a junior hockey player

Living the life of a junior hockey player has its ups and downs.

Usually about 2 weekends every month we have road trips that can range from either 4 hours away to 14 hours away. For road trips we usually leave around 12 midnight or 1 in the morning on friday. For games that are close we take vans, but for the ones that have us traveling for more that 5 hours we usually take a charter bus.

These bus/van rides are usually pretty fun because your on a bus with 25 college guys and you get the picture. For the most part we spend the time watching movies, having rap battles, or just hanging out, some of the other things that go on I can not say.

We usually arrive at our hotel around 2 on Friday and have about an hour to rest and get ready for our game that night. We then go and grab something to eat and head to the rink to warm up and get ready. After the game we grab some snacks and head back to the hotel. The next morning we wake up and have breakfast and spend some time resting before we have to go to our next game. We then go through the same routine, before having our final game on Sunday. After our last game we hop back on the bus/van and head for home. We usually arrive back home around midnight.

So next time you think mason and I are being lazy and sleeping in class you know our excuse, just kidding we are always ready for class.

and that pretty much sums up the life of a junior hockey player.

all about ME

Hello, my name is James Wilderman and I am a graduate from Freeburg High School. This is my second semester here at Southwestern Illinois College and I plan on transferring to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville after getting my associates degree. I plan on getting my major in elementary education, and someday hope to become a school teacher and a coach.

While going to college I also play on a junior hockey team called the Illinois Frontenacs. We play our home games out of Fairview Heights Illinois and travel to Michigan, Wisconsin. Its is a busy schedule but it is well worth it. I have played hockey since the age of four when my dad got me my first pair of skates, since then it has been hard to keep me away from hockey.

During the summer I have a part time job at Eckerts Orchard in Bellville Illinois. I work in the produce department and they usually do a good job of keeping me busy. At work I have to stock shelves and greet costumers. When im not working during the summer I usually am spending time with friends because I don't get to see them very often during the school year with hockey and school.

I hope I didn't bore you to much, but that is a little bit about me and what I want to do when I grow up.