Los Angeles Lakers: A history

Los Angeles Lakers: A history The Lakers were founded in 1948 and named after Minnesota. They were named after Minnesota because it was the land of ten thousand lakes. The Lakers have become a great franchise because of their player and their great sportsmanship. Pro Basketball has been around since 1898, only seven years after the game was invented. The Lakers hired John Kundla as their first coach from Saint Thomas College. The Lakers then won the 1948 NBL Championship. The next year the team moved to BAA (which is another basketball league) and also won the Championship. In 1979 they moved to California. The old Lakers owner traded the team, The Forum and the Kings to Jerry Buss for a 70 million dollar deal. After the purchase, Jerry Buss wanted the Laker games to be the most exciting event in Los Angeles, so he introduced the Laker girls dance team. This attracted many viewers. In their half century of basketball, the Lakers have had many outstanding players and many memorable games. This has made many Los Angeles residences die hard fans. Their team colors are, purple gold and white. They have played in many world wide arenas. The following arenas are, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis Armory, L.A. Memorial Sports Arena and the Los Angeles Forum. The Lakers currently play at the Staple Center located in down town Los Angeles. Which can hold up to18,997 people per game. The NBA was formed in 1949 and the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers is Phil Jackson. The Lakers have 14 championships, 29 conference titles and 28 division titles. They are currently in the Pacific Division, also in the Western conference. The Lakers are currently in the NBA finals vs the Boston Celtics. Some of the Lakers best memories began on, November 5th when the Lakers beat Baltimore and went onto winning 32 more games in a row. They lost their first game on January 9th to the Milwaukee Bucks ending their 32 game winning streak. In one of the many playoff games. In the playoffs the Lakers swept the Bulls. In the finals the Lakers played the Knicks. New York won the first game but that was it. The Lakers reeled off 4 straight victory wins. In 2000, 2001 and 2002 the Lakers wons back to back Championships. The Laker bacame the NBAs first Champions in the 1949 -50 season. In 1984 through 1985 Lakers finally beat the Boston Celtics in the finals. Over the years the Lakers have had many all star players on the team. The Lakers have one of the most exciting players, who is known as now MVP player Kobe Bryant. Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Since ONeals departure following the 2003-04 season, Bryant has become the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise, and was the NBAs leading scorer during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest number of points scored in NBA history. He was awarded the seasons MVP in the 2007-08 NBA season after leading his team to the 2008 NBA Playoffs as the first seed in the Western Conference. In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault at a ski resort in Eagle, Colorado by a hotel employee. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with the accuser, but denied the sexual assault allegation. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser informed them that she was unwilling to testify. Bryants accuser brought a separate civil suit against him that was ultimately settled out of court. Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006-07 NBA season. Bryants first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. During the 2006-07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. Here are some of the well known players in the Laker history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlin, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Jerry West. Jerry West became the only player in the NBA on the loosing team of the finals to win the MVP award. This is to show you how good the players were on the team, even though they lost. Jerry West picture is the NBA logo. It was taken when he was in college. The Los Angles Lakers are the 2nd most valuable team in the U.S.A., valued at 568 million dollars. They also have the 2nd most Championship following Boston. The Lakers are notable for having (at the end of the 2005-06) the most wins (2,905), the highest winning percentage (61.5%), the most finals appearances (28) of any NBA franchise, Lakers are still continuing their legacy and keeping their fans happy and proud. Im proud to say that Im a die hard Laker fan. Sources www.wikipedia.org The Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Team By William W. Lace www.nba.com/lakers/history/history.html#36

The Brain & Its Functions

Opening Notes: * Interest and research in the brain is at an all-time pace The cure for some common diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis has accelerated the efforts of many scientists * Many of the names for the parts of the brain have come from Latin and Greek words * The easiest way to learn about the brain is to look at it as three divisions; the hindbrain, the midbrain and the forebrain * Modern imaging has allowed us to study the brain and locate where important functions are occurring * Functions do not happen in just one area of the brainMany neural layers and areas are found in any one activity that happens. * Some areas do appear to be predominantly involved in certain functions. The hindbrain: * The hindbrain is located where the spinal cord goes into the cranium * The first area that we see if the medulla. It is the swelling at the tip of the spinal cord. * It is concerned with all of our automatic functioning, such as breathing, h eart rate and swallowing medulla: controls all involuntary responses * reticular formation: regulates sleep and wakefulness reticular formation: regulates sleep and wakefulnessInside the medulla is the reticulum activation system It is concerned with arousal, attention and sleep * The second part of the hindbrain that we see is the cerebellum Is sometimes called the small brain cerebellum: controls coordinated motor activity e. g when you first learn to ride a bike, you have to think about everything you do. After you learn to ride a bike, it becomes totally automatic, and that is because of the cerebellum * The next part that we see is the ponsPons means bridge in Greek and that’s exactly what the pons is * It is a bridge taking in all of our sensory information and taking it to the cortex to be interpreted. pons: the bridge from brainstem to cortex The midbrain: * The midbrain takes all of the incoming neural information and channels it to the correct part of the cortex to be interpreted. * It is also involved in muscle tone and helps in sleep, wakefulness and attention. The forebrain: * It is the most complicated part of the brain, and it is what separates us as human beings from other animals. When we first look inside the skull, what we see is the cerebrum. * The cerebrum is composed of two parts called hemispheres; the right side and the left side * The outer covering of the cerebrum is called the cortex * It is made up of what is called convolutions – the worm-like structures that you see when you look at the brain convolutions: folds in the brain that store memories * We can look at the cortex in another way and divide the cortex into four sections called lobes; function of the lobe is to interpret information coming in from our senses cortex: surface layer of brainLobes: * Located in the back of the head is the occipital lobe. * The occipital lobe processes visual information, or what we see. occipital lobe: interprets visual information * Coming to the top of the head is the parietal lobe. * The parietal lobe processes information on pain, touch, temperature and pressure parietal lobe: interprets temperature, pain, pressure and touch * Located on the sides of our head, right above our ears, are the temporal lobes. * The temporal lobes process auditory information, emotion, and have a part in memory temporal lobe: interprets auditory information Located right above our forehead is our frontal lobe; it is the largest part of the cortex and the part of our brain that makes us human. * It is involved in speech production, logical and rational thought, and has the ability to understand and plan the future. frontal lobe: controls speaking, thought and future planning * There are two areas behind the frontal lobe. * The first one is the motor cortex and it interprets our muscular sensations. motor cortex: controls voluntary movements Right behind it is the sensory cortex and it is the part of the cortex that tries to coo rdinate all of the information coming in from all of our senses. sensory cortex: processes body sensations Inside of the cerebrum is the limbic system: * The limbic system is a primitive part of the cerebral cortex. It is made up of several parts that have a function in the everyday working of the brain * The first part is the corpus callosum. corpus callosum: connects the hemispheres of the brain * It is a band of nerve fibers that hold the right and left hemisphere together. It allows the right side of our brain to know what the left side is doing, and the left side to know what the right side is doing. * The second structure is the thalamus. The thalamus is sort of a relay center of the brain. * It takes in all of the sensory information and takes it to the cortex to be interpreted, and takes it from the cortex back to the spinal cord to get back to the body. thalamus: relay station for visual, auditory and somatosensory information * The next part is the hypothalamus. The hypoth alamus controls all of our drives and tries to maintain homeostasis; homeostasis is an equilibrium at which our body functions best. hypothalamus: controls drives such as hunger, thirst and sex * The next structure is the hippocampus. * The hippocampus is very important in the processing of our short-term memories into long-term memories. * This is the part of the brain that is first attacked by the disease Alzheimer’s. * The hippocampus also helps us in facial recognition. hippocampus: stores short term memories and takes them to long term memories * The next part is the amygdala. The amygdala adds emotion to memory. * It also has a direct role in the formation of our memories. amygdala: holds emotion and emotion laden memories Located inside our frontal lobe are two areas that help in our speech production: * The first is Broca’s area. For most people, all right-handed people, and most left-handed people, Broca’s area is located in the left hemisphere. Brocaâ €™s area: controls our ability to speak * This allows us to speak. It coordinates what we want to say with our tongues and our muscles. The next area is located a little bit behind Broca’s area more toward the temporal lobe is Werniche’s area. * Werniche’s area allows us to understand what is spoken to us. Werniche’s area: creates the understanding of written and spoken language Lateralization in Epilepsy Patient: * Patients with severe epilepsy have allowed us to discover another important concept about our brains. * To help severe epileptics when drugs failed, a dramatic operation was performed and it involved cutting the corpus callosum. Separating the hemispheres allows the seizures to be localized and not spread from hemisphere to the other. Split-brain patients learn that the hemispheres will have distinct, different functions; this is called lateralization. Hemispheres: * The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body. * It also coordi nates our language abilities because it has both Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area in it. * The left side is also the logical, rational brain and excels in such areas as science and math. left hemisphere: controls language, logic and sequential tasks * The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. It excels in spatial abilities. * It is our artistic and musical part of our brain. It also has a function in detecting and emoting emotions. * In all but split-brain patients, we use all of our brains and both hemispheres since they communicate with each other. * The right hemisphere knows what is happening in the left hemisphere, and the left hemisphere knows what’s going on in the right hemisphere. right hemisphere: controls spatial-visual tasks, facial recognition and creativity Extra Keywords (NEED TO KNOW THESE): * septum: controls and create rageful behavior * cerebrum: the largest part of the brain divided into two hemispheres

Noonan’s point of view for the Anti-abortion Essay

Noonan’s is an extreme anti-abortionist. He believed that once conceived, the being was recognized as human because he/she had human’s potential. The criterion for humanity, thus, was simple and all embracing: if you are conceived by human parents, you are human. He believes in four pro-choice criteria for human being. The first criterion is viability. Viability is the point in time in which a fetus lived attached to its mother determines the fate. Notion of viability is that fetus is depended on its mother in order to live, and if this dependence is taken through abortion, then it is actually a right of life taken from a living human being. The second view is experience. Experience as defined through Noonan is, † A being who has had experience, has lived and suffered, who posses memories, is more human than one who has not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here he points out the stage of fetus when it can be responsive to touch and can feel the environment around him/her. He compares this stage of fetus to of an adult who has aphasia has lost his or her memories- his or her â€Å"experience†: Noonan asks rhetorically if this means the humanity of the adult has been erased. In this argument Noonan is implying that if there is an absences of experiences during fetus stage of human life, we can not deprive the fetus of his/her right to life. The third case is sentiment. Sentiment in this case means that if the fetus dies, it won’t receive the same grief as for a living child because it hasn’t been named or had personality. Noonan views this while contrasting different races among human kind. He portrays his feelings that if one human being is of different skin color or of different sex, we won’t say that his/her life lost is not grief able. Why isn’t then a fetus is given the same human respect he/she deserved. The last of these criteria’s is social visibility. They argument says that the fetus hasn’t been socially perceived as human: it cannot communicate like humans. Noonan’s views for this argument is as follows. He says that humanity does not depend on social recognition, although the failure to recognize this fact has led it to destruction of lives. These are the Noonan’s point of view towards the abortion.

Atomic Number 3 Element Facts

Lithium is the element that is atomic number 3 on the periodic table. These means each atom contains 3 protons. Lithium is a soft, silvery, light alkali metal  denoted with the symbol Li. Here are interesting facts about atomic number 3: Lithium is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element at ordinary temperature and pressure. The density of the solid near room temperature is 0.534  g/cm3. This means it not only floats on water, but is only about half as dense as it. It is so light, it can even float on oil. It also has the highest specific heat capacity of a solid element. Element number 3 has the highest melting point and boiling point of the alkali metals.Element number 3 is soft enough to cut with shears. Freshly cut metal is silver-colored, with a metallic luster. However, moist air quickly corrodes the metal, turning it dull gray and finally black.Among its uses, lithium is used in medications for bipolar disorder, to make lithium ion batteries, and to add a red color to fireworks. Its also used in glass and ceramics and to make high temperature lubricant grease. It is a coolant in breeder reactors and a source of tritium when atomic number 3 is bombarded with neutrons.Lithium is the only alkali metal that reacts with nitrogen. Yet, it is the least reactive metal in its element group. This is because the lithium valence electron is so close to the atomic nucleus. While lithium metal burns in water, it does not do so as vigorously as sodium or potassium. Lithium metal will burn in air and should be stored under kerosene or in an inert atmosphere, like argon. Dont try to extinguish a lithium fire with water as  it will only make it worse!Because the human body contains a lot of water, lithium will also burn skin. It is corrosive and should not be handled without protective gear.The name for the element comes from the Greek word lithos, which means stone. Lithium was discovered in the mineral petalite (LiAISi4O10).  Brazilian naturalist and statesman, Jozà © Bonifà ¡cio de Andralda e Silva found the stone on the Swedish isle Utà ¶. Although the mineral looked like an ordinary gray rock, it flared red when thrown into a fire.  Swedish chemist Johan August Arfvedson determin ed the mineral contained a previously unknown element. He couldnt isolate a pure specimen, but did produce a lithium salt from petalite in 1817.The atomic mass of lithium is  6.941. The atomic mass is a weighted average that accounts for the natural isotope abundance of the element.Lithium is believed to be one of only three chemical elements produced in the Big Bang that formed the universe. The other two elements are hydrogen and helium. However, lithium is relatively uncommon in the universe. Scientists believe the reason is that lithium is nearly unstable, with isotopes that have the lowest binding energies per nucleon of any stable nuclides.Several isotopes of lithium are known, but the natural element is a mix of two stable isotopes.  Li-7 (92.41 percent natural abundance) and Li-6 (7.59 percent natural abundance). The most stable radioisotope is lithium-8, which has a half-life of 838 ms.Lithium readily loses its outer electron to form the Li ion. This leaves the atom wit h a stable inner shell of two electrons. The lithium ion readily conducts electricity.Because of its high reactivity, lithium is not found in nature as a pure element, but the ion is abundant in sea water. Lithium compounds are found in clay.Mankinds first fusion reaction involved atomic number 3, in which lithium was used to make hydrogen isotopes for fusion by  Mark Oliphant in 1932.Lithium is found in trace amounts in living organisms, but its function is unclear. Lithium salts are used to treat bipolar disorder, where they act to stabilize mood.Lithium is a superconductor at ordinary pressure at an extremely low temperature. It also superconducts at higher temperatures when the pressure is very high (greater than 20 GPa).Lithium displays multiple crystal structures and allotropes. It exhibits a rhombohedral crystal structure (nine layer repeat spacing) around 4 K (liquid helium temperature), transitioning to a face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic structure as the temper ature increases.