Here is an idea you can think about and post an answer. In Houston, we have a couple of roads that are toll roads. With a toll road, you have to pay money every time you go on the road. And the longer you are on the road, the more money you have to pay.
Do you think it is fair to pay to use a road? Here are some things to think about...
1. There are less taxes for repairing roads because people pay money for tolls.
2. People who do not live in Houston but are just passing through would not pay taxes but still use the road.
3. The government helps pay for roads to be repaired and built.
4. People who do not use the road would not have to help pay for it. If there were more taxes, then people who do not use the road because it is too far away would be paying for something they do not use.
5. It takes longer to travel on this road because you have to stop and pay money. And if there are a lot of people on the road, it takes a long time.
So, what do you think? Should roads have tolls? Why or why not? There is no right or wrong answer, it is an opinion question.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Place I Work
I'm sure you're wondering what kind of place am I working at now that I'm not teaching. I work for a seismic (pronounced SIZE-mik) company. It's a company that looks for oil and then tells other companies where to dig for the oil. How they find the oil is really cool! Here is a quick and short way to tell what they do. They make little earthquakes in the ground (so little you can't even feel them!) and then use computers to measure what the ground does and that tells the people what kind of rocks are in the ground. If they are over oil, the ground acts one way; if they are over big rocks in the ground, it acts another way.
Think of it this way. If you have a bunch of rocks in a bowl and you bump it a little, what happens? Now, if you put water in a bowl and bump it just as hard, what happens? Did you see a difference? You can see a difference, but because we're looking underground and can't see, we have to use computers to measure what happens with the ground. Oh, and we also go out on boats and look for oil under the ground under the ocean!
If you want to see the long official answer, go to our website. Sorry to say, I don't get to help with that part of the company. I help fix computers, make lists, look for computer parts, and make sure everyone who needs a cell phone has one so I work in an office, not with the people looking for oil. But each job is important!
Think of it this way. If you have a bunch of rocks in a bowl and you bump it a little, what happens? Now, if you put water in a bowl and bump it just as hard, what happens? Did you see a difference? You can see a difference, but because we're looking underground and can't see, we have to use computers to measure what happens with the ground. Oh, and we also go out on boats and look for oil under the ground under the ocean!
If you want to see the long official answer, go to our website. Sorry to say, I don't get to help with that part of the company. I help fix computers, make lists, look for computer parts, and make sure everyone who needs a cell phone has one so I work in an office, not with the people looking for oil. But each job is important!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Arrival Time
For those of you who were guessing, it took me 48 hours to travel to Texas. I left Thursday around 6:30pm, spent the night in Lakeville, Minnesota. Then I started driving in the morning and made it to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Saturday morning I got up early and arrived in Houston, Texas at 6:30pm. So 21 hours of driving turned into a 48 hour trip after stopping for gas, food, and sleep.
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