Houseparty App

he Houseparty App has seen an explosion of downloads while New Zealand is in lockdown.

Houseparty is a free social media app that allows users to video-chat and play games with one another in a similar way to if they were hanging out face-to-face.

Downloading data has shown that Houseparty has practically been an overnight success. On March 17, it was ranked 1143rd overall in New Zealand on Apple’s App Store. Just six days later, it had risen to 1st.

In that same period, it went from being our 12th most popular social media app, to ousting the likes of Instagram and Facebook be number one by March 23.

This staggering rise isn’t limited to Aotearoa. One reporter who has been tracking Houseparty said its popularity “seems to have followed coronavirus around the globe”.

Easy Cookie Recipe

 

Here is a quick recipe for cookies 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour¹
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

US CUSTOMARY - METRIC

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds. Butter should be completely melted but shouldn't be hot.
• In a large bowl, mix butter with the sugars until well-combined.
• Stir in vanilla and egg until incorporated.
• Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Please read the recipe note about properly measuring flour. 
• Mix dough until just combined. Dough should be soft and a little sticky but not overly sticky.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Scoop out 1.5 tablespoons of dough (medium cookie scoop) and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
• Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cookies are set. They will be puffy and still look a little undercooked in the middle.

NOTES

1. Be sure to fluff and then scoop and sweep to measure the flour. Too much flour will result in a dry or crumbly cookie.
2. Or 1/4 teaspoon table salt. 
3. Don't over-bake the cookies, or you won't end up with soft cookies. Several people have said that they've needed to bake the cookies for longer. Since oven temps can vary, I suggest starting with the listed baking time and increasing the time as needed.
4. If you're interested in the chocolate version of these cookies, you can find that recipe here. 
5. Nutrition facts are estimates.
6. 

Activities You can do During Quarantine

Since New Zealand is in Lockdown , Here are activities you can do during Quarantine.
The activities help us see all that we can do, and take our focus off all that we can’t, during this coronavirus self-quarantine. We’re inspired to bond with our plants, improve our gardens, have movie nights with our kids, take up crocheting, organize our photos, start learning a new language, commit to a workout habit, make our house cozier, help friends and neighbors, and more.

Ready to get busy? Here’s a look at 10 ideas for things you can start doing right now to enrich your life — or at the very least, your weekend — without leaving your house. 

1. Complete a puzzle: The more pieces the better! Feeling extra saucy? Take on a Rubik's Cube. More of a word person? Crossword puzzle!

2. Start a journal or blog. Sure, it can be about the coronavirus, but it could also be about a specific interest from chess to cheese. 

3. If it won't bother your neighbors: Dust off that old instrument and practice

4. Text all your exes just in case you have one more thing you wanted to get off your chest.

5. Write poetry. Perhaps you can craft a haiku for Mother's Day, or something without a specific structure. Just try it!

6. Watch all the really long movies you’ve avoided until now.

7. Download Duolingo, or a similar app, and teach yourself a foreign language.

8. Finally read “Infinite Jest,” “Les Miserables” or even “The Stand.” Go all in and read “Ulysses.” You got this. 

9. Meditate. Try lying down with your eyes closed, palms up and while focusing on your breath. Or spend 20 minutes sitting cross legged and repeat a soothing word to yourself in your head. (The latter is more like transcendental meditation.)

10. Face masks, moisturizer, oh my! Treat yourself to a 10-step skin care routine you don’t have time for during a normal work week.

Biosecurity

New Zealand Biosecurity

Featured snippet from the web

The biosecurity system prevents or manages risks from harmful organisms, like pests and diseases. The biosecurity system helps protect New Zealand's economy, environment, human health, and a range of social and cultural values. It does this by: stopping pests and diseases before they arrive.

Social Distancing

3 to 6 feet distance from others and avoiding close contact It's a term that epidemiologists are using to refer to a conscious effort to reduce close contact between and hopefully slow down the community transmission of the virus.

Growth Mindset Quote

“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”

By Michelle Obama 

I really like that quote because I as a person always tends to 
get distracted. When I first heard this quote I really didn't know what it meant. But when I broke it up into pieces and reconstructed I knew what it meant.

Study shows eating avocados improves concentration

If these studies are true I will be eating avocados 
everyday to help me focus.

A recent study has found that eating avocados improves concentration.

Avocados are high in lutein, which has proven to have positive effects on the brain.

Researches from the University of Illinois completed a 12-week randomised control trial.

They discovered that adults who are overweight or obese had an increase in cognitive benefits after consuming the fruit.

For the study, 80 adults were split into two groups and given the same meals. However, one set of participants included an avocado daily.

At the end of the study, those who had avocados had improved performances on a cognitive test which required them to focus on the task while being distracted.

My Book Review

Over  the Past few weeks I have been reading a 
book named Bad Guys episode 8 .
 This is a Adventurous book. If you like Adventurous kind of book. This is the book for you. Here is a little Description about the book.
But what are they looking for exactly? GIGANTIC MUSCLES? SUPER SPEED? MIND POWERS? SHAPE-SHIFTING AWESOMENESS? Possibly. But are they looking for a nude Wolf? An unconscious Piranha? A muffin-stealing Snake? And a... toaster with a fin and really big teeth? DUH! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK THAT?!

Knuckleheads Assemble. It's Bad Guys Episode 8!

I recommend this book. I rate it ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 stars.

Current Events

2020 Olympics Have been Postponed

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed until 2021.

Following a meeting of the IOC, it was decided that the event, due to begin on 24 July, will now take place “no later than summer 2021”. 

The announcement was made by Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Prime Minister. The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021. While the Games is the biggest sporting event to be affected by the pandemic, there has been a huge impact on a host of other major tournaments and sports:

Order Of Operations

LI: Develop Number Knowledge.
Working With Exponents and BEDMAS/BODMAS
BODMAS Stands For ...
Brackets
Order
Division
Multiplication
Addition
Subtraction

Today I am going to be teaching you how to solve 
basic BODMAS equations. 
The Equation we are going to be solving is...

12 + 3 x 2

First you need to do is Multiplication

3 x 2 = 6

6 + 12
 =18

ANZAC DAY

What is Anzac Day?

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served"

• WHEN IS ANZAC DAY? 1916 25th April we celebrate on april the 25th because  Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. These became known as Anzacs and the pride they took in that name continues to this day.
• WHERE IS IT CELEBRATED?It is Celebrated in Australia , New Zealand , Samoa , Tonga , Cook island and Papua New Guinea.
• WHAT IS ANZAC DAY?ANZAC day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".
• WHY DO WE CELEBRATE IT?The 25th of April soon became the day on which Australians remember the sacrifice of those who had died in the war. The Anzacs were courageous and although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy.
• HOW DO WE CELEBRATE IT?WE have a dawn parade.

More detail…

• what was the gallipoli campaign? The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli, or the Battle of Çanakkale (Turkish: Çanakkale Savaşı), was a campaign of the First World War that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula(Gelibolu in modern Turkey) in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916.

How to use Proportional Adjustment in Maths

IALH: To use Proportional Adjustment.
Today I'm going teach you how to use this Strategy for a multiplication problem. And if you're wondering this level 3/4 maths.
Portional Adjustment is the same thing as Doubling and halving . 
But we use Proportional adjustment for Multiplication.

So the Equation is 
5 x 14 =
So we want to double the 5 and half the 14. 
Now the equation will look like this.
10 x 7
Now you can solve it
=70

14 x 5 = 70
7 x 10 = 70