Oh my gosh, seriously! What’s up with those numbers? Is it too hard to spell? It’s bad enough that people actually use those during msn conversations, but to use them in real life too? Don’t get what I’m talking about? Well, here are some examples of people you may know at school. You know Vasudha? Yes, the pretty 12 grader of our own school. She says ‘brb’, and I'm not talking about msn. I'm talking about real life. She says ‘bi-are-bi ’ instead of ‘be right back’. Some people (yes, I’m talking about you, Alic.) use ‘lol’ too. And I'm not talking about ‘El-Oh-El’, no, but full on ‘lowl’. I'm speechless. Abbreviations such as ‘MIA’ which meant ‘missing in action’, is even an alien word for Zainab, who is the editor of BISSKIT! What is to become of our English language? Will one day ‘lowl’ and ‘brurb’ (brb) become a real word in the dictionary with the definition of ‘laughing really hard out loud’ and ‘going somewhere for a short amount of time’? I’m starting to worry for the future English language, and you should be too.

So why do we use them? Shorten the everyday words we use daily by a few letters to become a mumbo jumbo of random letters with no vowels. Are we becoming even lazier to give up a second, or even a millisecond, to type in a few more letters? I’m one of the people who use abbreviations in msn, words such as ‘lol’, ‘brb’, ‘idk’, and ‘gtg’. But from today, I am going to try to stop this habit of ruining the English language and write full words instead. So what do you say? You want to join me? Yes? No? Hello? Is anyone there? -sigh-

Wall of ShameIf she falls, can we laugh?

My life is ruined! Limewire won’t quit.

I just figured out that those colon and commas isn't that people don't know how to use punctuation, they're faces! :)

Can you write in French, except in English?

Teacher: It is called European single currency.Student: Its all European countries right?

A: I don’t feed that to my turtle, Do you?B: You don’t have a turtle

Social life? You mean facebook right?

BISSKITEditors-In-Chief:

Vasudha Mukherjee Zainab SamadEDITOR’S NOTE

You’re probably wondering why the

editor’s note is on a keyboard and why is

everything so black and white for this month’s issue- well if you’ve paid attention to the

article above you will see that this

issue is in fact all about TECHNOLOGY -

something that turned our lives “all gray!”. This issue is sure to

entertain you all with fun and

interesting facts on how technology

has changed our lives, our language, our thinking, daily routines and even our dating styles! We hope you enjoy the issue and on

behalf of the BISSKIT team we wish

you a very happy, warm and turkey-fic

thanksgiving!! :D

Technology- GOOD OR BAD? Let the battle begin......XD

A luxury once upon a time, has now become a necessity! and why shouldn't it? I mean it allows us to access everything and anything. From making an extensive and vibrant newsletter to socializing on large networks, all this without leaving the comfort of your bedroom. It is a source that is entertaining us with national TV channels broadcasted from all over the world and making cooking easier by using electric stoves and what not! As an international school student (excluding the fact that I'm an IBDP student!) I spend about 17 hours of an average day on my laptop. That does not include when I listen to my iPod, call my friends or even when I watch television. In essence, our whole world is surrounded and rooted in from - technology!

Now, these are the pros, but like everything else in life there is a flip side. The most common of them all is eye strain and body aches that people suffer due to spending excessive hours in front of the laptop. These things can also be traced back to aggravation, frustration and anger which are the primary reasons to why people commit crimes. Nonetheless, even watching television for long hours of the day has a bad effect on your eyes and can also cause miscarriage, birth defects and cancer. Not only that but the static electric fields that these TV screens emit can also cause skin rashes and dermatitis at times. Techno-savvy's especially may incur vitamin D deficiency which is extremely crucial for stress reduction.

All in all, I'd sincerely advise all of you, even though I understand you may have loads of work to work on, that you should spend at least an hour or two away from your laptop, music players (or iPod!) and your mobile phone to enjoy the environment, nature and trees around you, as they keep you healthy, light-hearted and fresh. Try living your life like how it was spent in times when there was not such a wide-spread use of computers, and music players, etc. TImes when memory was something that you lost with age, the web was a spider's home and a hard drive which was a long trip down the road!

November 2010 Editionhttp://bisskit.biss.wikispaces.net/

Issue: 10.07

Source:Don’t Let Your Computer Kill You: What You Need to Know About the Dangers! | Safe Computing Tips." Safe Computing Tips on Office Ergonomics, Ergonomic Chair, Ergonomic Seating | Healthy Computing Exercises. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. <http://www.safecomputingtips.com/blog/healthy-computing/dont-let-your-computer-kill-you/>

- TechNOlogy week; Internet Dating;

- Pre-Tech days; BISS Fa!ion: introducing the

techno-savvy fashion; Srsly Stp Dng Ths; Wall of shame!;

In this issue ...

Writers: Annie Chen; Sally Kwon; Sofia Fang; Pear Chuwiruch; Varsha Rahghav & Zainab Samad

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TechNOlogy WeekGood bye kindle- Hello hard cover books!

The back ground of this experiment goes back to the old days (cough cough-) when we used dictionaries and encyclopedias (not wikipedia) for research and pen and paper to write things. Sound prehistoric? It seems pretty clear that technology has brought a huge difference to our lives, and especially in our classrooms. So, I wanted to test how my life would look without technology in the picture.

*This excludes the use of mac for school*

I am writing with a black BIC ball pen, after typing my listening log on my mac.I am dying to watch the latest episode of the podcast.Daily blogs/SNS/messengers have gradually become a part of my life. It’s like breathing air or eating food_ perfectly natural and a second instinct you have to quench. One top of that, half my subjects require assignments to be done on mac.I guess I need some extra-strong will for this!

YUP. I am nowhere close to having the discipline of a nun, so I had to having the use some help and guidance. I asked my mom to take my mac away, put it somewhere up high and keep it out of sight.The ipod was safe because it was out of battery anyways -thank God!-, so I kept it that way. Today was the day I forcefully blocked the use of all the electronic devices, and not voluntary. It’s only been 48 hours, and it’s killing me.

Guess what? I actually started reading!!!Using my mac for entertainment is strictly forbidden for the next three days, and I am getting bored to death-of course I have homework and assessments and piles of things to study, but studying is studying, and playing is playing- so what’s left with me is my book shelf. There are some books that I bought last summer in a bazaar, including the classics of the Bronte sisters and “horrible history” books for fun, and -oh! how could I forget- the books for Battle of the Books a year long battle where I have to read and read and read. Before, I preferred spending my time web surfing and distributed my time mostly on checking out blogs or chatting through Skype. At the end of the day, I found myself doing nothing much meaningful or memorable, but just playing around.But no more worries! Now I have made more progress on reading. I think I read more books for the last three days compared to last month. This is definitely a good sign.

Omg, lol. OMG, LOL. How long did it take us to figure out what the heck those 3 simple letters mean? It took me a long time, that’s for sure. Who would have ever guessed that ‘omg’ meant ‘oh my god’, while ‘lol’ meant ‘laugh(ing) out loud’? I mean, who was the person that even thought of ‘omg’ and ‘lol’? In my opinion, that person must have been either a couch potato who was so lazy to type a few letters, or some immature rich little girl who thought it was ‘AWESO’ to shorten every single word. (FYI, AWESO equals Awesome) Or it might have just been all of us. That’s possible. Isn't it?

Our normal everyday language has seemed to have taken a new turn when we started to use abbreviations, or as I like to call it, msn lingo, in our daily conversations. You know those abbreviations right? Right? You don’t? If you’re shaking your head, that must mean that you’re either a very very very young kid, new to the whole world of chatting, or you’re just…old school, who’s also new to the whole msn lingo.

Phrase MSN Lingo Phrase MSN LingoBe Right Back brb You’re Welcome Yw

Talk To You Later ttyl Whatever w/eLaugh(ing) Out

Loudlol I Don’t Know idk

Thank You ty Just Kidding jkI Don’t Care idc Rolling on Floor

Laughingrofl

Oh My God omg Got To Go gtgWhat The Hell wth I Love You ily

Phrase MSN Lingo Phrase MSN Lingo

Before B4 To- (e.g. Today) 2

Great Gr8 -ate (e.g. late, great)

8

Nice One N1 Tomorrow 2morrow/2MRW

Don’t Be Late DNBL8 Today 2day/2D

Wait W8 Got to go G2G

These are the basic abbreviations we use in chats. Here are the lame ones with numbers in them.

Continue on next page...

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Today I learnt how amazing cell phones are. I had a soccer match, and the way back home, I realized that I did not bring my cell phone to school. It didn’t really matter before, since it was a home-school-home-school itinerary. But this was different. The taxi driver had no clue where my home was, there was a thick fog in the air, and it was getting dark thanks to our opponents who were 20 minutes late to the game.

Urghhh!!! I am in desperate need of music.I now realize the importance of music. In the bus, on the way home, especially alone- doing homework. I am just used to it I guess, and it feels like I am missing something big_ something really important in my life.Of course, there are some advantages to this.My life did get a bit peaceful.No bugging noise from the speakers or the strange noise of the fan inside the mac. I guess I remembered how to listen to silence, a neutral state.I started to notice small sounds that I’ve forgotten in years, the swoosh of the wind, the rattle of the leaves, and the pumping of the heart...

.......The clock seems to go twice as slow as normal.

Victory! I spent the last 168 hours with out an ipod, cellphone, or a mac (excluding school time) It’s been a long week, but somewhat meaningful. I learnt two things. One, technology brought us a better living standards and fun. Two, sometimes you have to take a break, a vacation to remember and reassure yourself this fact. My final word before I go and plug myself into the matrix and once again, “dive” into the pool of technology is this. Try it yourself! You’ll get what I mean.

By Sally Kwon

IMBF

JENNE’S COLUMN

Why am I so in love with my Internet boyfriend?

You have to admit, succumbing to Internet relationships is a little unfortunate, but it has recently become a high trending act of socializing and getting to know others. Sharing your feelings and spilling your deepest darkest secrets to a complete stranger can be very rewarding, but is highly

condemned by people who are in REAL relationships. Why Internet dating? Does it mean you can feel the fuzzy feelings of love and affection without leaving the comfort of your couch? Does it make us feel wanted without having to face the person or deal with their issues? Why yes of course. One gets all the benefits from a real relationship without having to actually look good, have nice clothes or even pay for dinner. Frankly, all you out there with cyber relationships, more power to ya!

In fact, we should all give this cyber dating thing a try. Dressing up to

flaunt at your computer screen sounds very interesting and definitely a

great way to spend your Saturday night. Why go out to a bar, face the awkward silences with the freaks at the bar, then walk home in shame and

self-pity once the bar freaks have completely rejected you. With your Internet relationship, you won’t have to worry about awkward moments or any walks of self-pity. The worst thing that could happen is that your server crashes and your relationship crashes and burns. Big whoop, there’s still

thousands of other cyber-relationship-craving strangers out there waiting to

pounce on you as soon as you post up a cute profile picture. Why not? Let’s all give it a try.

Tell me how it goes,

Jenne

Internet boyfriends are the new trend

<3

Translation: Instant

messaging Boyfriend

Life before Technology, can you imagine what it was like. Even the thought of it brings goosebumps to my skin. We are so used to the concept of technology that it has become a vital part of life. Spending 7-12 hours a day on technology is as normal as breathing. But what is it like for those not so dependent on technology? Yes there are people like that in the world. How do they socialize without facebook or have fun without video games?I personally can't spent a day without having to collect the coins. But there was a time where i didn't need all these stuff. In fact it was just some 2 years ago.

I spent my days playing hopscotch and dodge ball. Doing all those fun activities that involved you actually getting up and moving around. In India, I used to drain all my energy during the lazy afternoons in the narrow streets playing with my friends till late night. My mother used to literally force me to be in the house. We used to play games with really weird names as well such as ‘chocolate’ which is actually a game including boxes. Anyway, I went to school with a school bag, yes like any other child, crammed with thick heavy books. We had ‘proper,’ and by proper I mean paper print not e-books, textbooks and notebooks for every single subject that was to be carried to school to and fro. My bag felt like a heavy pile of rocks, crushing my back. Now that I think of it, I think this might be a justified reason for me being ‘vertically challenged’ (apparently, people get offended on being called short).

During class, we had to handwrite each and every word the teacher spelled out for us. If you think about it, in a day we actually wrote about 10 pages back to back and this is just IN CLASS, homework is separate. Imagine having to write 1500 word essays by hand. If you have to add something you can’t even go back and edit it. You know what would be a more painful act, having to submit 2-3 drafts all handwritten and it still not being good enough! We just relied on our teachers as sources and the only other way to acquire knowledge, other than books that is. But seriously who would spend their entire afternoon searching for a particular book whereas you could have been revising for the upcoming tests or quizzes. Such a drag! Waste of precious time.

By Varsha Raghav

No one was ever accused of being ‘plugged in’ all the time because they weren’t! Owning an ipod or a cell phone was considered so cool and everybody wanted to be your friend. But now it’s normal, if you don’t have a gadget you’ll be labeled as a freak (no offense to anyone). I know for one sure thing that I wasn’t allowed to have a cell phone even when I was going to get promoted to 10th grade and my only means for communication with my friends was the home phone, but come on seriously? Parents always poking their noses in our business, seemed like just the right opportunity to be scolded. So basically what I’m trying to say is that it was not as private as it is now. I mean sure we have the internet which in a way can be argued as being more harmful concerned to ones personal life, or rather the ‘virtual life’.

The gist of this article is to take you guys to the whole new ‘unthinkable’ world. I better say just back in the time machine a couple of years back. With every advantage approaches disadvantages. (okay, I might have taken this quote and rephrased it a little from Spiderman’s Uncle, but you get the point)

Pre-Tech Days