Kids Get Rich
I have recently made a new website called KidsGetRich.com. On this site, I teach kids how to make money through entertaining videos. KidsGetRich has nearly 100 members! If you are a kid reading this, sign up right now by clicking this link. When you sign up for KidsGetRich, you get 5 free videos. And very soon, there will be over 30 VIP videos for the low price of $3 a month. You can probably get your parents to pay for it and give you lots and lots of money to start your business. So sign up today.
I’m also writing a book for KidsGetRich. Reading this book will teach you everything you need to know to make thousands of dollars, even if you are only 10! The book will come out very soon, probably by March 2018. So get your parents to also buy that for you when it comes out.
So if you are a kid who wants to make money, who wants to be like one of those obnoxious “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills”, then sign up today at KidsGetRich.com!
My Trip To Gettsyburg
I recently went to Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania with my Boy Scout Troop. This was the site of the Battle of Gettsyburg, a very important battle in the Civil War.
We left on Friday at about 6 pm. It should have only taken about 4 or 5 hours. It took 7 hours. We got to our campsite at 1 in the morning. We had a cabin, so we didn’t have to sleep in tents as usual. Unfortunately, the bus couldn’t take us right to the cabin, so we had to walk about half a mile with heavy bags. Around 2, we all went to bed, then promptly woke up at 6:30. We had to meet the bus in the parking lot at 7.
We had a hearty breakfast at the Dobbin House, the oldest building in Gettysburg. We then quickly toured the Dobbin house and got back on the bus. Our tour guide pointed out many points of interest on the bus until we got to our destination, Devils Den. Devils Den is a hill with multiple rocks, and this was used for artillery and sharpshooters. After seeing that, we walked through the infamous “Slaughter Pen” and hiked up to the top of the “Little Round Top”, a much larger hill where Union artillery was operated. For lunch, we went to a nearby park and had a pizza party! After that, we got back in the bus, and drove to the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center. We saw a 30 minute film about the battle, then viewed the Gettysburg Cyclorama, a circular panoramic painting depicting the battle. After the museum, we went to the town of Gettysburg and went shopping for souvenirs. Finally, we ate dinner at a buffet, went back to the cabin, and went to bed.
The sun was in our eyes!
On Sunday, we woke up at the same time, but before we left, we had to clean the cabin. We got the Dobbin house around 9, and were we hungry. After breakfast, we went on a walking tour and learned all about civilian life during the battle. We then toured the Shriver house, the house of a young family who had everything going for them… and then the war happened. The husband died after he was captured during the war. The two daughters both died of tuberculosis. After the tour, we went shopping for a little bit longer, got some lunch, and drove back. This time, the drive was only about 6 hours.
I really loved the trip, I learned a lot and saw some really cool Civil War artifacts, rifles, and even cannons. I would definitely recommend visiting Gettysburg if you aren’t interested in the Civil War.
Here is a video of me reciting the Gettysburg address when I was 7:
High Fructose Corn Syrup And Why It Is Important
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener made with made from corn starch. It is generally used as a sweetener for candy and soda. HFCS has also been used as a replacement for honey in bee colonies where nectar is in low supply.
To produce HFCS, corn is milled to produce corn starch, which is then acidified and exposed to multiple enzymes to produce HFCS.
HFCS is very important in the soda industry, as nearly all sodas contain it. It is used as a replacement for sugar in most “diet” sodas. HFCS is used in candy, yogurt, juice, bread, frozen dinners, and bread as a cheaper alternative for sugar.
The nutritional value of HFCS has said to have been identical to cane sugar. The corn producers say your body handles it the same exact way it handles cane sugar. However, HFCS contains substantially more fructose than cane sugar. Fructose builds up in your liver, causing fatty liver syndrome. HFCS also punches holes in your digestive lining. The way HFCS is handled is also not very safe. The production of HFCS is not monitored by the FDA, and mercury contaminates the syrup.
Some people dislike the taste of HFCS, preferring foods sweetened with cane sugar. As such, HFCS marks food with it as low quality, processed, and industrialized.
The corn industry has tried to keep these nutritional facts a secret, calling HFCS “corn sugar”. But if you truly care about your body, stop eating products with HFCS.
Aristides
Aristides was a statesman in Athens, and was partly responsible for driving the Persians from Europe. He was known as the polar opposite of a different statesman, Themistocles. Aristides and Themistocles argued about Themistocles’ naval policy, the former wanting Athens to remain a land power. He was also a very wise judge, known as the “Just”. Unfortunately, this title caused Themistocles to accuse Aristides of taking control of the courts. Themistocles proceeded to start a movement to have Aristides banished. Unfortunately, he succeeded. He was sentenced to be banished for 10 years. But three years into his banishment, all of the banished people were called back into Athens because the Persians were invading and the Athenian government needed more people. Aristides was then loyal to Themistocles at the battle of Salamis, and helped the Athenian army defeat a Persian garrison. Aristides was the commander of the Battle of Plataea, the final land battle of the war. Aristides won the confidence of the Ionians, and they formed an alliance. Aristides was then elected the leader of this alliance. After the war, Aristides continued hold a high position in Athens. He died in Athens after some years. If you want to read more about Aristides, I would recommend checking out Plutarch’s Lives For Boys and Girls.
Rubik’s Cubes
I just got in to Rubik’s Cubes! I have accumulated a large collection. It contains… *deep breath* a 3x3x3, a Shengshou 4×4, a Shengshou 5×5, a QiYi Cavs 2×2, a Shengshou Megaminx, a Moyu Skewb, a LanLan Curvy Copter, a Gear Ball, a Rubik’s Twist(Snake), a Shengshou Mastermorphix, a Mini Cube, and a Rubik’s Void. The official events are 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, 6×6, 7×7, 3×3 Blindfolded, 3×3 One Hand, 3×3 with Feet, 3×3 Fewest Moves, Skewb, Pyraminx, Square-1, Megaminx, Rubik’s Clock, 4×4 Blindfolded, 5×5 Blindfolded, 3×3 Multiple Blindfolded. My 2×2 Best Time is 20 seconds, my 3×3 best time is 1 minue and 12 seconds, and my skewb record is 40 seconds. If you want to start cubing, I recommend this pack right here. And what ever you do, DON’T buy anything with the rubik’s logo on it!
Skiing
Yesterday, I went skiing. It was my second time ever skiing, the first was a couple weeks ago at the same place. To start out the day, I was woken at 6:00 am on the dot and dragged into the car for a three hour ride to the Shawnee Ski Area. We started off with a lesson at 9:45 till 10:15. We learned how to turn, brake, and wedge in our lessons so far. When I was done with my lesson, me and my sister tried the Pennsylvania trail. The first few times I tried that trail, I failed miserably. But this time, I went through it easily. I did it two more times by myself, and then went with my sister and her friend onto a blue square trail called Tomahawk. We went down and turned off of it because the next half was a black diamond! Yikes! Then we took a lift up to Bennekill, a blue square trail that went all the way down the mountain. Then Christine’s friend wanted to go all the way down Tomahawk, even the black diamond section! I said no thanks, and watched Christine go down a vertical drop. Then I saw my friends Milo and Ethan and went up to Country Club with them. Country Club was a freestyle terrain course, and I did a big jump! Then we had to go home. 🙁 But the day was really fun, and I ♥ Skiing!
Here is a list of routes I have skied on.
After Effects
I made the video above using Adobe After Effects. You can do lots of things with AE, including animation, color correction, and video effects. To create the projectiles my nerf gun fired, I created a solid with a mask and added fractal noise, motion blur, and color vibrance. To create the vortex on the green blast, I reversed the time and moved it before the blast. I think Adobe After Effects is really cool and worth the $20 a month!
Current Projects
I have a lot of projects I work on. Here is a complete list:
- Book Number #1
This is my main focus. I haven’t decided the perfect title for it yet, but I am really excited for it to be finished! - End of the Line
This is another book which I am making. It is currently on hold because I like Book Number 1# better, but I hope to continue it.
- Animation Number 1#
I wrote a blog post about this. Currently on hold. - The Johncast
See the blog post about it. - John Brown
Discontinued because I didn’t like the idea.
The Johncast
Do you enjoy my site? Do you wish you could take some of the great content with you anywhere? And do you want a witty, smart, and original something to listen to while you are walking the dog or driving to work? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then the Johncast (my podcast) is for you. It is packed with jokes, math tips and tricks, life hacks, and much more! It will be released on December 25, hopefully earlier. I look forward to releasing the first episode, so look on your iPod to see if it’s out!
My Birthday
This year I turned 11. I had a really fun laser tag party. You can see me with my friend Joey up in the picture. I was on the green team. They won the first game, and my team won the second. after the games we had pizza and ice cream cake. I was the best player in one game, and the second best player in the next. We played arcade games and left my mom dry, and then everyone went home. We opened up my presents when we got home. They are listed here:
The Enter the Serpent LEGO set was from Charlie and Georgia. It is really awesome and fun to play with.
James got me Stratego and Risk. Risk is really fun to play.
Joey got me some money and this speed cube.
Michael got me a Barnes and Noble Giftcard.
Nicholas and the other Michael got me some money also.
Kaden got me a Toys’R’Us gift card.
My Mom got me a stuffed poop(!).
My sister got me the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.
My Aunt Camille got these cute stuffed animals for me, and a special suprise gift, which is still in the mail.
My Uncle Vinny says he got me something really good. My Grandma is getting me these cute Snoopy PJ bottoms (the ones she ordered at first were WAY too big, so I use them as a blanket). My Nana’s gift is still in the mail. Uncle Fred gave me $20. But for now, the grand prize goes to my Dad, for this gift.
