How to be a Knight

David Singapogu

Lesson 18

How to be a Knight

            During the middle ages becoming a knight took many years of commitment. If a noble man, who wished his son to be a knight, he would be sent away to become a page. [4]Working hard, first he would become a page, he practiced riding he practiced caring for horses he practiced fighting he practiced wrestling he practiced hunting. [2]After competing in games like chess they would have better understanding of battle strategy. [5]When they became 15 they could become a squire or a servant and shield bearer to a knight. Only a squire could help a knight at terrific tumultuous tournaments and go with a knight to battle, which was a huge privilege. [3]Finally a squire could become a knight because of braveness in a ceremony called dubbing. [1]Knights diligently drilled skills like archery and hand to hand combat at tournaments where 100s of skilled boisterous knights worked to be fit. Becoming a knight was not easy

Memory Master Competition

According to the Bible, the story of the world is the story of the creation, fall, and redemption of mankind.

Genesis 1:1 tells us, “God created the heavens and the earth.” With only his words, God sculpted earth, space, time, and light on the first day.  On day two, he created the atmosphere with its parts—troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.  On the third day of creation, God made the dry land, and plants.  On the fourth day, God fashioned a myriad of stars, including our sun, and moon, with its phases—new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, and full. God also crafted some other bodies in our solar system—asteroids, meteoroids, meteorites, and comets. God formed the fish, sea creatures, and birds on the day five.  And on the sixth day of creation, God fashioned land animals, and more importantly Adam, and Eve were created in God’s image.

Unfortunately, mankind insolently rejected their creator and scornfully contrived gods of their own imaginations.  Some of these were the Greek and Roman gods—Zeus, Jupiter, Hera, Juno, Ares, Mars, Aphrodite, Venus, Hermes, Mercury, Athena, Minerva, Poseidon, and Neptune. In rebellion, they went so far as to brazenly name all of the planets, except for our beautiful planet, Earth, after these gods—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Overtime some people recognized the error in their beliefs. In the West, increased interest in spiritual things paved the way for a new age and prominent men capably used their talents to display God’s glory. During this Renaissance Period from 1350 to 1600, Leonardo da Vinci was a famous inventor, Shakespeare was a famous playwright, Michelangelo was a famous artist, and Copernicus was a famous scientist who earnestly believed that God was creator. Science flourished and in the early 1700’s Newton made grand discoveries in Physics. His first law of motion states that an object at rest tends to remain at rest and an object in motion tends to continue moving in a straight line at constant speed unless an outside force acts upon it. Newton’s second law of motion states that force equals mass times acceleration. Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton astutely affirmed, “The true God is a living, intelligent and powerful Being.” Science and technology continued to advance and in 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon. U.S. space missions tenaciously continued with the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle missions.

Through scientific advancements, the truth proclaimed in Psalm 19:1 is evidenced.  Truly, “The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” But mankind’s greatest privilege is knowing and making known the God who came to redeem us!

Armor can be a Double-Edged Sword

Kiran David Singapogu

January 24, 2020

Lesson 17

Armor can be a Double-Edged Sword

During the Middle Ages, armor and weapons were highly prized possessions of the warriors, known as knights. The first armor was made of chain mail, thousands of rings joined together, it was strong enough to stop arrows, which was useful in battle. [4]Advancing weapons was the crossbow, which was fashioned well, now, chain mail could no longer stop arrows. Therefore, the blacksmiths put metal plates on the chain mail. [2]After a few years, armor was sophisticated and grew in weight. [1]Blacksmiths even created a glove with metal spikes on it. knights were covered from head to toe in armor.  [3]Astonishingly, armor came to the point where a regular helmet could weigh a whopping 50 pounds! Two were necessary to put armor on a knight, because the armor weighed so heavily. [5]Since there was a large amount of weight, if a knight fell of his horse, it would be very hard for him to fight. As you can see, the armor and weapons of a knight could be a double-edged sword(pun intended).

Learn Quick, Get Good Quick

David Singapogu,

2/19/20

Learn Quick, Get Good Quick

            What are you going to do with your empty basement? Table Tennis is a good way to go. It fits in most basements but also comes with a lot of fun. In this essay, I will talk about the dynamics and long term benefits of Ping Pong.

            Ping Pong is one of my hobbies. It seems simple enough, but as you incorporate more and more tricks and spins, you will find that earning your point is not so easy. Some of the main ways to derail your opponent are powerful smashes, deceptive spins, and unpredictable serves. If you wanted to get a paddle your first thought would probably be to go to amazon and find the one with the best reviews. But for the pros getting a paddle is a different story. First you must buy a handle, then you have to buy two rubbers, one for each side and then cut them to fit your handle. Then you would use a special glue and stick the rubbers to the handle. And just a plain wooden handle can easily be over 100 dollars. As you can see this process is not only labor intensive, it isn’t very easy on your either.

wallet

            As you can see Ping Pongs simple rules make it easy for people to learn, but as you advance you and your opponent’s tactics will make it take every bit of effort to defeat them. Table Tennis is not only one most fun games to play and watch. Its beneficial components can not only give you a thrilling game to play but also a plethora of skills that you will need as go through life. But most importantly, it will not only help fitness but significantly lowers your probability of getting Alzheimer’s. All in all, Table Tennis’ simple rules and creative shots make it very fun to play.

Life Lived in New and Better Ways

David Singapogu

Lesson 24

February 28, 2020

Life Lived in New and Better Ways

“The sky is the limit.” [2]In my visit to the twenty first century, the items and machines I viewed there were truly breathtaking and awe-inspiring. These items that I describe here make life more enjoyable, easier and efficient. [5]As These items make tasks that were once extremely time consuming and inefficient quick and easy, they allow people to spend time doing the things they enjoy. Using the magic leaver, you could create light with a flick of your finger. Using the automatic book maker, you can create duplicates of your books within seconds. [3]Finally, the man-controlled bird is not only a fun way experience the sky but also a way to view the world “through the eagles eye.”

[1]I wish you could have seen the magic button that could be flipped to create light.  I saw a lever in the room, I wondered what it was. A man walked to it and casually pushed the lever up and a magical light appeared. The gentleman showed me the lever. He said that when you push the lever up it started something called electricity and it went to a “bulb”. [4]Thinking it would never work, I flicked the lever with the tip of my finger, and Wow! the light turned on once again, which greatly amazed me. The bulb is equivalent to an oil lamp and is very bright. This bulb is a very good invention from the twenty-first century.

            Next up is the automatic book maker. If I put a piece of paper in it, it will put words on it. Also, if you put a page with words on the book making machine, it will make a questionable sound, and then put the same words on a different paper. Using the automatic book maker, no person is needed to copy a book by hand, which is a huge advantage. It only takes 7 seconds to fashion a duplicate. With the automatic book maker, you can easily make books.

             Last of all is the man-controlled bird. The bird has four wings that turn like a very fast potters’ wheel. The man has a black brick with levers to control the bird. The bird was very fast and even showed the man what it saw. There were many different colored lights that shown brightly in the night sky. It was a very clever bird.  I can’t say I entirely understand the bird or its purposes, but it caught my fancy.

            I am still fascinated by the automatic light creator. The book making machine still boggles my imagination.  The man-controlled bird intrigues me by its ability to quickly respond to the man’s complex instructions. These inventions revealed ways in which man could live life more efficiently. Life for people in the twenty-first century is faster, easier and more interesting. People with these items can spend time on pursuits they desire because of the efficiency of these machines. These inventions help people in meaningful ways each day. These discoveries help people to live life in new and better ways.