A book, and some software... For starters.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not writing yesterday. My schedule was especially hectic, and with everything plus trying to squeeze in a swimming workout afterwards just did not make things any easier. So, I promise you that this entry will be extra long.
After hearing about all of the buzz that has been generated by the movie My Sister's Keeper, I decided to go out and read the book. Well, I'm about halfway through and it's been a great story so far. The book revolves around a family whose eldest daughter has basically fatal leukemia. She was supposed to die when she was around four or five (having been diagnosed when she was around 3) but something (or, should I say, someone) has kept her alive until her late teens. Why? First of all, throughout her life she would need multiple injections of bone marrow, as well as many other cells that she would need to get from someone who was a "match" for her. After testing the entire family and seeing that no one was a match, the parents, out of desperation, tried something that few had tried before. Using their egg and sperm, they created a baby that would be a match to their older daughter, and therefore be able to keep her living well beyond her early childhood years. The story revolves around this girl with leukemia (named Kate) and her younger sister, Anna, 16 and 13, respectively. It was always assumed that Anna would obediently donate and do whatever she could to help her older sister. But now that Anna is 13, she feels that she needs to start making decisions on her own, that she shouldn't be entitled to be her sister's "keeper" anymore. While she is completely aware of the fact that she has now written her own sister's death sentence, she feels as though having the freedom to not answer to anyone is most important. To you, this may seem selfish. Of course, any sibling should always do whatever he or she can to help another sibling. But, the procedures until now, which included extracting white blood cells as well as stem cells had been fairly non-invasive as well as fairly harmless. However, the next procedure, because Kate's kidneys were failing, would be to remove one of Anna's kidneys and place it in Kate. This had a significantly higher risk to Anna, and would only ensure that Kate might be able to live for a few more years.
I'm about midway through the book, and I've found it fascinating. The concept of a "designer baby", as termed in the book, is an extremely controversial topic, which can often spark an interesting discussion. Watch the movie or read the book today!!
On a happier note, I recieved some free software from Microsoft. Even though it's software that's about to be discontinued, I think it's pretty cool. It's called Microsoft Student, and it comes with Encarta Premium 2007. It helps middle and high school students with their homework, which is pretty cool. Here's what's inside:
For 6th-8th graders, they can use the Pre-algebra portion with step-by-step math solutions, translations for French, German, Italian, and Spanish, Microsoft Office templates for book and science reports, as well as powers and exponents.
For 9th-10th graders, it has Algebra and Geometry, equations and functions, verb congugations for the languages listed above, presentation tools and templates, as well as the triangle solver.
For grades 11 and up, it comes with trigonometry and calculus, limits and series, language tools for Microsoft Office, Essay tools and templates, and 3-D graphing.
It sounds as though this software wouldn't just be useful for students! It seems to me as though adults could also easily use this to help their kids, or just for their own personal use.
Hope you had/are having/will have a great day.

Love always,
Olivia