April 29, 2014 Please read.....and enjoy!

I prefer a little biography about my generals.

Well, first there is General Teddy. He is second in command. And he's my favorite general. You know why? I sleep with him every night since I was a baby. (Between you and me) He's the best general because he is my assistant. He assists me by training new recruits. He also assists me by telling me that all the main cannons are up on the ship that I made out of my bed.

Now, I'll tell you a bit about the first in command, ME! I give all the assignments and missions. (I even give top secret missions) And I am the one who trains new recruits and picks the new recruits. Sometimes, I call a break. I have lots of duties. But, I won't get into them now. I'll get into them in another blog.

Do you know what you do if you complete a secret mission?? You get one free snuggle with General Teddy!

Let's move on to Sergeant T - AKA Mr. T - AKA a triceratops. Sergeant T fires one of the main guns. One of the main cannons, actually. And I pass his station just to get on to the battlefield, when we're in a battle. Just so you know.

Next, there is Captain Tigger. He's in charge of the plasma cannon. I have a plasma cannon for facing a boss base. (You know, a base where a boss is.) There are two other cannons that help out, but this is one of the major cannons. I'll go over them after this one. The plasma cannon is awesome! It shoots balls of plasma at the enemy. It just blows them away or rips them apart if the blast is strong enough.

Now let's see....the two major cannons. Well, one cannon is a laser cannon and the other is a missile launcher. Corporal Panda fires both weapons. Works out pretty well. He has very good aim.

Last but not least, if we need help, we have one ally. Super Moose!!!! He shoots laser eyes. And he can fly in space like Superman. And he has freeze breath! Pretty cool, huh??

And I have three new recruits. My Mom, my Dad and my Sister. My sister doesn't care about her missions. She just cares about candy, TV, chocolate milk, cake! Sheesh!

Some things that make a good recruit are that they are a good fighter, they care about their missions and they are good sports. (Unlike Lilly, who whines when she loses at a game like Monopoly.Jeez)

That's all for now!

Stay tuned 'til tomorrow!

TO BE CONTINUED......

P.s. The editor got her first flight lesson! We went to Antarctica!!!!!

April 28, 2014 I GOT A LETTER!!!!!

Hey, guess what?!? (I love that phrase) I got a letter from the turtle conservancy! Mr. Godfrey, the head of the conservancy, wrote me back!!!! You can see how I feel in the email. I'm attaching his letter:

Dear William,

Thank you for your email and for your very creative work in trying to invent a system that can help save baby sea turtles. I enjoyed watching your YouTube video and was very inspired by your enthusiasm for sea turtles. I feel the same way about these amazing creatures, and they definitely can use all the help they can get.

I am very familiar with the threat of predation on sea turtle nests by all sorts of animals – particularly loose dogs, raccoons, coyotes and wild pigs. Hundreds of sea turtle nests are destroyed each year in Florida alone when animals like these dig up turtle nests to eat the eggs and hatchlings inside. Unfortunately, it is part of the role sea turtles play in the coastal ecosystem. Our job in trying to protect sea turtles is finding a balance to prevent the majority of nests from beings destroyed by animals before the hatchlings can emerge and reach the sea.

My organization, Sea Turtle Conservancy, actually does a lot of work to protect nests from predation, including educational outreach to get dog owners to control their animals – and also working with coastal property owners and businesses to lock up their garbage so it does not attract animals like raccoons to the beach. In some cases, we also use cages or screens to protect nests – very similar to the design in your project. We have not used an electrical shock component, but I understand why you would want to include the strongest deterrent to animals.

I find your project design very good and think it could have some real-world applications. If you would like some constructive feedback, the main drawback to using a shock component would be the potential to accidentally harm the hatchlings or even other nesting turtles that bump into the cage when they emerge to nest. But perhaps you have already thought of that and incorporated a safety mechanism to prevent shocking the turtles.

Thank you again for sharing your project with me – everyone here at the Sea Turtle Conservancy is very impressed with your creativity and your passion for sea turtles.

If you would be willing to send me your mailing address, there are a few turtle-related gifts I would be happy to send you in appreciation for your work.

Very best regards,

David

my response:  

Mr. Godfrey -

First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my email and looking at my video! I am honored.

How much space to the hatchlings need to get out? My Dad and I thought that if we made enough room from the wire to the sand, the hatchlings could get out. We could make some kind of adjustments to the design so the hatchlings can get out without getting zapped.

We have to do more research. We’re going to make a full scale model to test it.  We will test it in our backyard on squirrels. We have lots of squirrels and Mom hates them! (note: we’ll make sure no real damage is done to the squirrels.)

If you are interested, we can send you our results. Thanks again! I look forward to hearing from you!

My address is:

William Carl Benz

I felt honored when I got that letter. Now I have to come up with some adjustments. I'm REALLY excited!!! YAY me!!!!!

Experiment #1 - making water marbles. Didn't work out so well. From now on, we'll just buy Orbeez.....First, the experiment was written incorrectly. And some of the ingredients don't really exit. Calcium bicarbonate only exists liquid form and you can't buy it and it's not in your house. And I think they accidentally put "bi" in front of carbonate and meant calcium carbonate which is tums! Oh well. It's definitely on my try again list. Not all experiments can turn out right. You don't learn anything if everything is always right.....

careful!!! It's dangerous here!

bbbuuuurrrrr.......

Epic fail....ra, ra, raaaaaaaaaaa.....

BBBOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

But, experiment #2 worked!!!! We made bouncy silly putty! I think bonds break pretty quickly because you can rip it very easily. That means that the hydrogen bonds are easily broken. But, it's fun anyway....We used borax and multi-purpose glue and water.. Borax is cool but it is poisonous to eat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hln0gZAhCIY

We bought strawberries!!! That means DNA experiment tomorrow! We're gonna do that tomorrow. I'll let know how it works out....

I went skating yesterday!!!! I only fell 3 times. I went 6 or 7 times around. And I did it all by myself!!!!! 

That's all I have on my mind.

Stay tuned 'til tomorrow!

TO BE CONTINUED...

April 25, 2014 Daddy's blind...

K, not really.....Daddy went to the eye doctor today. I went with him. I follow him where ever he went - lots and lots of room. It's my eye doctor too. My eye doctor's cool. One test was that the assistant took a picture of the back of Daddy's eye. They are looking for any changes in his eye.
They did the puffer test. They had him read the eye chart to see if he needs new glasses. Daddy needed new glasses....

Here's a diagram of your eye!

Pretty cool, huh??

Tomorrow I'm doing the autism walk with Meggie - my actually big sister. (She's my actually big sister because I don't count Lilly older than me). I hope the weather is going to be good. I think I may find a couple of people to talk to. 

Daddy downloaded the Black Stallion on my nook. I'm on chapter 3 already. Chapter 3 is way different from the island part in the movie. I like the book better. 

We forgot to do the strawberry DNA experiment. WE ATE ALL THE STRAWBERRIES!!! Don't blame me that they were good. Mom will have to get some for next week.

I haven't heard anything from the turtle guy. Hm.... I wonder if he got our email? I hope so. I really care about this project and I hope someone can use it.

That's all for now. 

Stay tuned 'til next time!

TO BE CONTINUED.....

April 24, 2014 Sorry! I was on vacation.....

Sunday: I was having fun! I got the 4th Geronimo Stilton Cavemice book! And I read it all in 2 days! I also got Derpy and Doctor Whooves figurines. They are from My Little Pony. I am a Bronie. This is a video that explains what a Bronie is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohnuyqJyEW0. Maybe I'll go to Bronie-con someday.

Oh, Sunday was Easter!!! Happy Easter, everyone! My basket was under the covers of my bed. I was in my Dad's bed. (I couldn't sleep, but more about that later) We had company for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Benz, Meggie and Bubba came for dinner. Dinner was good. It was nice to have company. Bubba stayed and watched Black Stallion with us. It was a good movie. But the island part wasn't as I read it. Actually, the whole movie was different from the book. And personally I only read a couple a chapters, but I know it was different. I'm gonna read the rest of the book. Maybe Dad can find it in the e-library for me.

Here's a picture of Doctor Whooves and Derpy:

Aren't they cute??

Tuesday: Guess what?!?!?! I WON ELECTRIC FENCING!!!! It's been a long time since I've done that! Might be thanks to the melatonin that helps me sleep. (Ok, again, more about that later) Coach was real happy with me. Well, he didn't yell and when we left, he had a smile on his face. This happened before my problems began. I didn't learn anything new, I just practiced what I learned. 

Right now, my tummy is gurgling. This is why: (excerpt from Howstuffworks.com) But you may be wondering -- if your stomach is empty, why are the muscle contractions that digest food happening to begin with? The reason has to do with hunger and appetite. About two hours after your stomach empties itself, it begins to produce hormones that stimulate local nerves to send a message to the brain. The brain replies by signaling for the digestive muscles to restart the process of peristalsis. Two results occur: First, the contractions sweep up any remaining food that was missed the first time around. Second, the vibrations of an empty stomach make you hungry. Muscle contractions will come and go about every hour, generally lasting 10 to 20 minutes, until you eat again.

I'm gonna go eat now. Hopefully, I'll get back to you later! Happy reading!!!

TO BE UPDATED!

2:15 p.m. Here's another update. This is about my project. We emailed a director from the sea turtle conservancy. Here is the letter I wrote and Mom typed. 

Hello!

 

My name is William Carl Benz. I am 9 years old. I came up with something that can protect the baby sea turtle egg nests. I have emailed many people, hoping to see if my project can work. I have not had any success.

 

My mom and I looked through the federal guidelines and couldn’t find anything that says that my project can’t be used.

 

I did a lot of research about sea turtles. Do you know why I think they should be saved? Because, only 1 in 1000 baby turtles make it to adulthood. This puts them on the endangered or threatened list. Except for the flatbacks. There isn’t enough information on them.  I’m so passionate about the turtles because they look like gentle giants. They are important to the earth. I would be very, very sad if they were gone.

 

I am home schooled. I am an Aspie. (That means I have Asperger’s Syndrome/Autism.) Being an Aspie made it hard for me in school.  My teachers didn’t know how to deal with me. I am very smart, but have a hard time getting along with kids my age and working in a classroom. Being home schooled is letting me learn more about what I want – like turtles!

 

The idea of this came to me all because of one article in a National Geographic’s kids magazine. It’s where I found the fact about 1 in 1000 turtles making it to adulthood.

 

This video isn’t very professional. We just did it for me to practice for my science fair and for my blog. But, I hope you watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDll7Kf1UP0

 

I hope you like my invention. I really would like to see it work in real life. Please let me know if you have any questions. I will try to answer them.

 

p.s. If you’d like to see my blog its: www.wcbenz.blogspot.com

 

William

Again, TO BE UPDATED...I'll write more later if Mom has time to help!

April 11, 2014 The consensus is.......

Editor's note: Well, you all swayed William to keep doing his blog. And that he will put more effort into getting his not so fun stuff done early so that we can do the cool stuff again! You all actually made me cry a bit. And William really was touched. It meant more than you could know.....:-)


Sometimes is hard for me to stay on track.  Sometimes my head gets all jumbled up. And it makes me irritated. But, I do! And I also sorta like doing this.

Thank you all. I'm happy you took time out of your day to do this. I'm speechless right now.

Let's get onto the other stuff!

Dad decided that I shouldn't go to fencing for awhile. I have no idea why. Fencing is very fun! I enjoy it! I think I'm learning stuff. But, sometimes coach gets mad because we have to go over stuff for about infinity. Maybe that's why Dad didn't want to go anymore. Me and Daddy decided that we should still go. Daddy won't be in the room with me anymore. That makes me a little sad. (Coach thinks maybe Mike in the room distracts William) I'm willing to try it this way.

Yesterday we went to the tennis courts because I wanted to skate. I did pretty good! I only fell a couple of times. I hurt my coccis again. It feels a little better today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAfEPtnS1Jw

I went outside again today when Lilly got home from school. I hurt my elbow. It started bleeding so I went back inside to get a band-aid. Youch!

Still didn't get the strawberry DNA. Maybe next week I'll be more focused and we can really do it. And I need to get back on track to getting my invention shown. I need to get busy!

Today we studied about Percy Levon Julian. Momma was crazy because she couldn't find the end of the video we were watching. (cuckoo-cuckoo). We never did find the ending. Julian was the first black chemist at the turn of the century. He worked on extracting the chemicals out of plants. Pretty exciting! Maybe I'll do something like that.

Here is a short hi-lite video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhgxq1vjBqY

That's all I have on my mind. Thanks for listening to me. I appreciated it.

That's all for now!

Stay tuned 'til tomorrow!

(and) TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 11, 2014 I need your assistance (The editor - not William)

William doesn't want to do this anymore. He also doesn't want to use his imagination. We've started a story about his super hero, but will not finish it. William really doesn't want to do much of anything lately.

So, I need your help! Either by email (mkwhitemb@yahoo.com), on this blog or via Facebook, please let me know how many people really enjoy reading Will's blogs. (I'm hoping there are a few loyal readers) Perhaps if Will sees that there are people that care about what he does or has to say, his view on life will change.

I know that William can be so much more than he thinks he can be. He can be more than the kid in front of the TV or in front of the video game. (Though I know for his brain, these things "help keep order" in his mind)

I'm also trying to get him to realize that by getting the not so fun stuff done early in the day, we have time for the fun stuff we both like to do. (Like extracting strawberry DNA - I want to do this!!!!) We could be learning so much together.....sigh.......

So, if you could all just help me give William a little push. Perhaps just hearing that he does touch a few people by what he learns, and what he writes, it'll give him the kick start he needs to gain momentum. So, yeah, a little help here? Please???

Hopefully, TO BE CONTINUED.....

April 8, 2014 What I want to be...REVISED ON JUNE 11, 2014

THIS IS AN UPDATE...DON'T BE ALARMED...
Not much to say today....

I thought of something else I might want to be when I grow up. But, I forgot....MMMMMMM....I like being a kid. I don't have to go to work. I don't have to cook. I don't have to pay bills. I AM NOT PAYING THE BILLS!!!! I get to play stuff. I can sleep in! I have SNOW DAYS!!! I DO NOT have to shovel!!! I don't have to mow the lawn. I get to read all the time. YAY! (CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP...) Go Me!!

That's all for now. Well, hope you enjoy reading this update and this old post!!

TO BE CONTINUED.....

 

April 7, 2014 I'll make it short.....

Today is a short blog. It's late and I want to watch My Little Pony.

First, please remember to visit my new friend Angel's blog. It's pretty cool. She had her first "blogaversary" on Saturday! (But, I have no idea what that is) (Mom just explained it means she had her blog for one year)

We went outside today! I rode my bike and scooter! I did pretty good. It was easier to ride my bike this year now that my feet are more developed. (Is it just me or do my feet want to run??)

First time on pavement!!!

I did spanish today too! Today I learned, un bolígrafo and Una bicelette and periódico.

I did more research on how to make silly putty. I found that school glue does not bounce. We need Elmer's all purpose glue. That's why my other experiment didn't bounce. But it was still cool....

The ballet went well! It was fun! One of the dancers was my teacher! I knew a lot of the dancers! The dancers were terrific! The fencing was like a super nova!!!! That means a star blowing up. It was beyond this galaxy!

That's all for now!

Stay tuned 'til tomorrow!

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!
"NUFF SAID"

April 4, 2014 Romeo and Juliet

I forgot to wish Neglia Ballet good luck! In the ballet world, they say Merde to wish dancers good luck! Merde means "poop". We just looked it up. We have to look up everything these days. One explanation that they say this is they used to use animals on stage and if the animals pooped, the audience would yell, "MERDE" to warn the dancers....pretty cool, huh???

So.......MERDE, NEGLIA BALLET!!!!!






I'm going to Romeo and Juliet tonight! It's a ballet. It's at Shea's. Neglia Ballet is putting it on. We just read the story so I know what happens. Here it is: http://www.kidsloveshakespeare.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RJsummary.pdf

I'm excited about this. There is a sword fight! Sergio taught the dancers how to fence. Here is a picture from a rehearsal of the fight scene.

Oh, we got an email from one of my counselors from Tifft! She knows about my invention. She gave us another website to go to for more info. That means for reading and research! Who knew one simple experiment could need so much info!!!!!

That's all for now. I'll update tonight if we don't get home too late...

TO BE CONTINUED....(this time I really mean it!)

04/02/2014 Gelato

*** Editors note: Dad helped me type this in because mom is busy with Lilly practicing singing.

Today I went to Chess. I didn't win and offered 2 draws. A draw can happen where you both have just Kings on the board as nobody will win or you give up and the opponent accepts. I was losing so I conceded the game.

After Chess mom took me to Orchard Fresh to get a Gelato. I had a Apple Pie flavored Gelato. It was DEEEELICIOUS! I pounded that thing down! The first time I tasted the lemon it tasted like Italian ice but after eating my Apple Pie Gelato the lemon was VERY sour.

This is me eating Gelato. YUM!

I heard back from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida about my science fair invention to save the baby turtle nests from predators. They said they can't use it because it needs to meet Federal Guidelines as the Turtles are an endangered and protected species. I am researching what the Federal Guidelines are. They are confusing.

This is me trying to figure it out. My head hurts.

Last Sunday it snowed AGAIN! We got a few inches and Dad had to snow blow the driveway. We finally got to build a snowman! The ground wasnt frozen because the snow had already melted before we got this snow so it was muddy. We made a muddy snowman.

He lead a very short life. It got warm and the sun was out and he fell over and he broke in two. He had a carrot for a nose. The deer will probably come and eat it.

This is our snowman...

I don't have speech therapy this week because of the ELA common core state testing (booo). I don't have to take the test because I am home schooled but Lilly does because she is still in school.

There was no dance today because Neglia Ballet is doing Romeo and Juliet at Shea's this Friday and me, mommy, Lilly and dad are going to it. I am excited to go because they fence in it!


That's all for now....

Stay tuned till tomorrow!

TO BE CONTINUED...