January 2022

Now, electric gates are gates operated by a machine. Their purpose is to conveniently open without drivers having to manually open it. Because of rain, snow, and other weather issues, makes the gates rust and makes them squeak and shake.

Anyone who wishes to know what the hay I am standing next to and filming an electric gate for, this is the book for you!

-THE ROLE OF AN ELECTRIC GATE/GARAGE DOOR-

Regular gates with the tool of an automatic operator are triggered to open and close the gate with the power of a remote control. This is useful for disabled people driving cars to their homes.

-THE THREE TYPES OF GATES-

There are three types of gates you can install. Slide, Swing, and Lift. Some storage units rely on lifting gates. Some homes rely on swinging gates. Most residential buildings rely on sliding gates.

-WHY I FIND ELECTRIC GATES/GARAGE DOORS ENTERTAINING-

To me, electric gates are entertaining to me because of the movement, the visuals, and a number of other things. I get it. IT'S JUST A GATE. But not to me apparently.

-ADDITION/REMOVAL OF SIGNS-

At times, a new sign is added on an electric gate. At some other times, that specific sign is removed. At more times, the sign remains there for a long time. I find it exciting that the electric gate has a new sign. This has occurred at Tibbett Towers in November 2019, and October 2023, The Edwardian Apartments in November 2021, Corlear Gardens in April and July 2022 (after replacement), The Ambassador Apartments in September 2023, A building at 3174 Riverdale Avenue in early September 2023, and Waldo Gardens in July 2023 (after replacement). It’s more entertaining up close. It can also be exciting for days to come. Removal of a sign makes it exciting, too. That occurred at Tibbett Towers in September 2020, Waldo Gardens in February 2020 (before replacement), and Bakerfield Apartments in February 2023.

-RECOLORING-

Giving an electric gate a reskin can be interesting and exciting for days. It gives it a new look (sort of.) Despite it looking new, it will not sound new. This action took place at Waldo Gardens in July 2020.

-‘GATE IN MOTION’ ALARM-

Some electric gates consist of a specialized ‘gate in motion' alarm. One of them being a literate car alarm. That is from a strobe connected to a PowerMaster slide gate opener, which was replaced with a LiftMaster gate opener on January 2024. It’s also another thing I find entertaining at times.

The car alarm is heard at the Ambassador Apartments on 3240 Riverdale Avenue. Most beeping noises come from Linear, Liftmaster, and PowerMaster (with NITRO board) gate openers. There will also be another thing where they will silence the alarm.

That has occurred in Tibbett Towers in early July 2019, Waldo Gardens in September 2021 (before replacement), Corlear Gardens in April, May, and early June 2022 (after replacement), and the Ambassador Apartments in 2023. One brand will consist of something where the alarm’s beeping tone will rise based on how cold it is.

Another version of Linear gate openers has the speed of the alarm slowing down while the tone is going up. All beeping can be heard at Waldo Gardens, Tibbett Towers, Edwardian Apartments, a building on 3174 Riverdale Avenue, a building on 2724 Heath Avenue (before replacing the opener), Van Cortlandt Green Apartments, Franklyn Plaza Apartments, and as of 2022, Corlear Gardens. Beeping also occurs in elevators and laundry machines.

Another brand of gate operator consists of an alarm lowering tone and speed. This is from an older PowerMaster gate opener model and was heard at Corlear Gardens before replacement.

There is also another one that consists of a beeping tone that sounds like a literate fire alarm. That is from LiftMaster. This has been heard from Montefiore's Waldo Avenue Building before replacing their opener a second time, and Waldo Gardens too, before they replaced their Liftmaster opener with a Linear one.

-OTHER ELECTRIC GATE/GARAGE DOOR CONTENTS-

Some electric gates/garage doors consist of keys/clickers to trigger them. Keys as in what you use to unlock a door. Key fobs also trigger electric gates as well. Both cases are mostly seen in residential buildings.

Some electric gates also consist of bumpers, colored black and yellow. They are programmed to open the gate back up if the gates hit someone/something.

When the bumper is dysfunctional, it will have to be replaced. Some with a different color, such as black to yellow or vice versa. The only colors they are available in are black and yellow. Some electric gates also consist of a 'photocell', which is to open the gate back up if the photocell is triggered by an object or person passing by.

-AMBIENT NOISES-

Ambient noises excite me as well, causing me to stay next to whichever electric gate/garage door is making that specific noise so I can film it, occurring when opening and/or closing. It's almost like the gate/garage door has detained me.

Ambient noises also occur at elevators when they move, or laundromat machinery. Those look exactly the same. They do not sound the same.

-INSIDE ELECTRIC GATE/GARAGE DOOR OPERATORS-

Inside electric gate/garage operators are machines that are responsible for automatic gate/garage door movement. They consist of various gears and a circuit board. It is very rare for me to film the inside of an automatic gate/garage door operator in action.

I mostly film the electric gate/garage door itself in action. While filming an electric gate is entertaining, filming the inside of the electric gate/garage door operator is more exciting.

-TYPES OF CHAINS FOR YOUR SLIDING GATE OPERATOR-

Most brands of gate operators require chains, literate chains to move the sliding gate they control. One brand named HySecurity requires a literate line with thick outlines to move the sliding gate it controls. This is located in Van Cortlandt Green Apartments and Franklyn Plaza Apartments, except the gate opener moving it was with chains, like all the others.

-REPLACING/REDESIGNING THE ELECTRIC GATE-

It's not every day that you have to replace your electric gate but when you've had enough of it making loud unfixable noises, or something else was unfixable, here comes that time to replace it!

6 residential buildings this took place in were Montefiore's Waldo Avenue Building at 3636 Waldo Avenue (presumably), Clinton Manor Apartments at 535 W 51st St, Corlear Gardens at 290 W 232nd St, Waldo Gardens at 3800 Waldo Avenue, Nathan Hale Gardens at 3411/3419 Irwin Avenue, and the Edwardian Apartments at 315 W 232nd St. I wonder if Tibbett Towers will be next.

Corlear Gardens, Waldo Gardens, and Clinton Manor Apartments replaced all chainlink fencing, while Montefiore's Waldo Avenue Building presumably replaced their chainlink gate only.

At Nathan Hale Gardens, they still decided to go with chainlink, causing the replacement gates to look the way they are today, due to a presumable poor installation.

At The Edwardian Apartments, they replaced the diamond fencing with mini diamonds.

At The Ambassador Apartments, they just replaced part of their chainlink fencing.

At Bakerfield Apartments, they only replaced their chainlink door with a steel one.

At Corlear Gardens, I was filming the remaining electric gates not in removal. Throughout the fencing replacement, I learned the true ways how a gate and gate operator were installed and fused together with a total of six words: Welding equipment and Underground wire connections.

Maybe you'll understand my electric gate/garage door instincts now...

To check out the electric gates I have filmed, click here.

Electric Garage Doors

New York Yankees lost to Boston Red Sox in 2021

New York Yankees' next baseball season

By, Noah Brown

January 31st, 2022

Although it’s winter and baseball is the last thing on your mind, the spring isn’t too far away! In the last baseball season in 2021, the New York Yankees lost to Boston Red Sox, but don’t worry, the next season is going to start in April 2022 - that’s only 3 months away!

When the Yankees got eliminated by the Red Sox, The AL Wild Card game wasn’t short to kick off the 2021 MLB Postseason. Their season ended on October 5th, 2021. During their last season, the Yankees lose 6-2.

As a Yankees fan, I hated to see them lose but I am hoping they win more games this year, especially against their biggest rival, the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees and Red Sox are rivals is because this rivalry became the “Curse of the Bambino” and they do not like each other. I hope that as long as the Yankees continue to win, they will finish strong and will someday be in the 2022 MLB Postseason.

What I've Been Doing Over The Break.

By, Helfry Flores

January 21st, 2022

Hey guys, it’s me Helfry. haven’t posted an article in awhile. For the sake of my hiatus and sanity I will tell you about the things I did in the Dominican Republic (which for those of you who don’t know, is on an island next to Haiti in the Caribbean Sea). On my tripI feasted on plenty of french fries from an Air Fryer; if you’ve had air fryer french fries you understand my obsession.. Secondly, I went to several different places. One such place was my Dad’s old house. There I explored the recently built second floor which has a balcony. There isn’t furniture yet so anytime I spoke it sounded like my voice was edited with reverb.. I also went to a resort somewhere in Puerto Plata, although I didn't do much there, it was still worth it. We ate some food and my little sister had fun in the pool.

We were originally going back to New York on January 8th but when we got our Covid test results, my little sister and I tested negative but my Mom and Dad tested positive, which was a shock because I care about my parents and I don’t want to lose them, but I guess that’s life in a nutshell. . Lastly, , when we were on the plane to Newark, there were no TVs on the back of the seats so we had to improvise and use our electronics. It feels so good to be back In New York. So that’s my story of my vacation In D.R. I hope you enjoyed it and I also hope it inspires you to travel somewhere cool. Signing off, until next time.

movie review- Spiderman: No way home

By, Justin Lowe

January 21, 2022

Hi guys! Justin here. Welcome to another movie review. Today I want to review a new movie called “Spiderman: No Way Home”. This movie is part of the Spiderman series. In this story, the whole world knows Peter Parker is Spiderman. He is having a hard time keeping both of these identities separate which leads to many issues and also a lot of laughs. The movie also has Dr. Strange who helps Peter go back to the past and helps him discover what it truly means to be a real Spiderman.

Out of all of the Spiderman movies, this wasn’t my favorite but I kind of liked it. There is an awesome cameo from a past Spiderman star - I won’t tell you who, you just have to watch and find out yourself!

Overall I give this movie 5 stars (like always)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King's most important speech

By, Noah Brown

Publish Date: January 14th, 2022

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is coming up on Monday, January 17th, 2022. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is an important figure in American history for many reasons but especially because he stood up for what he believed in and helped motivate other people to do the same. One way he inspired people was through talking and giving big speeches. His most famous speech is called "I Have a Dream". In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he called for the civil and economic rights of all people and an end to racism in the United States.

His speech started on August 28th, 1963 and took place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. His speech is very important because it brought greater attention to the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King wanted this to change but it doesn’t matter what color skin you have, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I found this interesting because we don’t need to judge people based on their skin color and separate people into being "black and white". If our skin colors are different, that doesn’t mean that we should treat them differently. Dr. King knew this but during his time Black people were treated unfairly and the law even allowed this (called segregation).

MLK day is an important day to remember our country's history of segregation. Did you know this is also a national day of service? One way you can celebrate is by volunteering in your community. Just like MLK, you can also make a difference.

Official and fanmade countdowns

OPED: Why attending the 2022 ball drop was a bad decision.

By, Jonathan Mnukhin

Publish Date: January 13, 2022

-DESCRIBING THE ANNUAL EVENT-

We all THRIVE to go to times square to see the annual ball drop. I'm surprised some people were actually there on the final hours of 2020!Every year on December 31st, there is this specialized clock on times square. The countdown would be animated, based on which company it is sponsored by. Test countdowns are ran to see if the clock is working correctly. Something above the clock is a motorized ball with colorful lighting. Something else above the clock is the number of the new year. The motorized ball slides down at the speed of elevators at a four story building or automated gates in general. The clock also consists of fireworks. The fireworks are shot at a specific time. When 10 seconds remain of the previous year, the fireworks are shot for every second, along with the pulsing light of the motorized ball. When the last minute of the previous year was over and the ball is fully down, the number of the new year above the clock lights up. Confetti comes down as we bring in the new year. Times square also celebrate the new year's in other countries as well. The clock proceeds to count down the seconds before the next hour of the current year before the next year.

-WHY IT WAS A BAD IDEA THIS YEAR-

Back in the past, a huge number of people go to see the ball drop as of all years this occured before December of 2020. In December of 2020, less amounts of people appeared then usual. In December of 2021, Omicron happened. And the same amount of people appeared. It might have been more, but I didn't pay that much attention. To explain why it was a bad idea, it was said Omicron spreads faster than Covid. For this cause as we return back to school on Monday the 3rd, A number of lead teachers, ONE OF the occupational therapists and paraprofessionals were absent! One of the lead teachers being Ms. Sarah. (Our teacher/Creator of this site) The next day, she was back, but a number of PP's and LT's were still absent. This resulted in Ms. Sarah (PS138 speech therapist) to sub for a class and a teacher in the PS138 workshop room with her students to sub for one of the teachers in there. Today, since no other coverages were done, one class's students had to redirect to the other classroom. By the way all teachers, students and classes mentioned were the PS138 students and staff. This really started to tick me off, because during my birthday yesterday, the big elevator leading up to five was out of order. It was that way since Monday as well. The only elevator i took was the smaller one on Monday and Tuesday. (My birthday.) It was confirmed from a worker the bigger elevator was already finished. That time, we were waiting for our school bus back home. I wanted to repent from yesterday and film the bigger elevator when I was going to do deliveries with my OT therapist, which is the objective of OT at PS138m at Park West high school. But she was sick. Since I still was aggrivated from yesterday, I felt like throwing various people under the bus. I swear, I'm not usually like this. Maybe only when I'm aggrivated? So Covid is around in this building. We are required to do covid tests to make sure we are still worthy of going to school. (Postive or Negative) If I'm negative, then I can still attend school when I want to. If I'm positive, it's been a blast for now...
UPDATE: The news are saying a number of teachers and other school staff were tested positive! Apparently my school is not the only one with a staff absence curse like this.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 7TH, 2022: The staff absense curse is no longer a thing at my school anymore.

Movie Cover

MOVIE REVIEW: Ron's gone wrong

By, Justin Lowe

January 14, 2022

I’m back with another movie review. This week I am reviewing the movie, “Ron Gone Wrong”, a family comedy released in October 2021. This movie is about robots called bubble bots. They were created by a man so all kids could have one. In the movie a boy named Berney has a birthday and wants a bubble bot but the store is closed! His family finds a broken bubble bot and thinks, hey, this might work! But the bubble bot (named Ron) is so glitchy. But even though Ron isn't exactly what Berney wanted they become best friends. I won't share anymore because I don't want to spoil the ending. If you have time over the long weekend and want to watch a heartwarming tale of friendship and technology, I recommend watching "Ron's Gone Wrong".

I give this movie 5 stars.

Examples on the Roman numerals chart

HOW ROMAN NUMERALS EQUAL TO NUMBERS?

By, Noah Brown

January 5th, 2022

Do you want to know why Roman numerals are so cool? First you need to know a little history.

Roman numerals are letters that represent numbers. Roman numerals were invented by the Romans between 900 and 800 B.C. and were used for nearly 1800 years in Europe. Romans created the Latin language and used it’s alphabet so they could represent numbers with letters. They used seven different types of letters (I, V, X, L, C, D and M). Using roman numerals instead of numbers prevented numbers from being too long! For example, the number 1,000 would be written as M! 2,000 would be written as MM. See how easy that is?

Roman numerals were changed to Hindu-Arabic numbers because roman numerals are not super useful for math! They are better used for writing.

Today Roman numerals are not as commonly used because we use numbers instead! However they are useful when they appear in building cornerstones, movie and tv show credits, and titles, etc.

Roman numerals interest me because I love how Romans used Latin letters to equal numbers - it feels like a secret code you have to decipher, which I think is pretty cool!

Example: (C) MMXXI-MMXXII The News Crews, Ltd.

Park west snack shop update

By, Justin Lowe

Publish Date: January 4, 2022

The snack shop survey results are in! After weeks of collecting data from the QR codes we hung up around Park West we finally have all the information we need to start our store. Our data shows that more students than staff completed the survey and students from Food and Finance completed the survey the most! We will use the data collected to determine what items we will sell. Based on the data, students would want to buy: Doritos, Cheetos, and Takis. For candy, students would want to buy snickers, kit kat bars and sour candy. Surprisingly, 56.5% of students chose bottled water as their favorite drink, followed by Arizona Iced Tea. The data also showed that students favorite cookies are Oreos and Chips Ahoy (which isn't surprising!). Lastly, we will also sell muffins and pop tarts because close to 140 students indicated these as a snack they would want to buy from our snack shop.
We had over 216 survey responses and this data is super helpful because it shows what items we should get at Costco to sell at our snack shop. Stay tuned for more updates for when we open!

"What we know now about Omicron Variant"

A NEW CORONAVIRUS VARIANT CALLED OMICRON

By, Noah Brown

January 3rd, 2022

Hey, folks! I’m sure you have heard that there is a new coronavirus variant. The new variant is called Omicron. It is important to learn facts so you and your family can stay safe. Here’s some important facts: Omicron spreads to Delta. We don’t know where Omicron came from, but scientists predict that it evolved from one person. Omicron was first detected in South Africa. It has spread to many other countries, including the United States. Omicron affects people to get sick a lot quicker. This is a good reminder that COVID is still around and spreading. Remember to still wear your masks, sanitize your hands, and stay safe whenever you go outside. Check out my article from September about staying safe from COVID and if you still want to learn more about Omicron, look up some more information on the internet.

Movie review: Encanto

By, Justin Lowe

Publish Date: January 3rd, 2022

Over the winter break I watched a new movie and am excited to give it a review! I watched a movie called Encanto. This movie is about magic and is also a musical. Encanto is about a family called the Madrigals.They live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a place called Encanto. Each person in the family has magical powers except Mirabel. Some of the powers they have are seeing the future, talking to animals, controlling the weather, creating plants, and super strength. Mirabel feels depressed and jealous that she does not have magical powers like her family. What do you think happens? I hope you watch and find out! I don't want to spoil the ending.

I give this movie 5 stars.

Different reasons of Mario losing his cap!

By, Noah Brown

January 24th, 2022

Hey, everyone! Would you like to know about the evolution of Mario losing his cap in some video games? It is extremely shocking because Mario is capless without his cap! There are different reasons why Mario loses his cap.

For example, in the original version Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64), Mario’s cap was stolen by Klepto the Condor, who swoops down and snatches it. In that game, Mario also loses his cap when a gust of wind blows it off, and when a monkey named Ukkiki snags it off his head. In the Nintendo DS version of this game, all these things happen, but an extra scene was added where Toad was wearing Mario’s lost cap and gave it to him.

In both versions of Luigi’s Mansion (Nintendo GameCube & Nintendo 3DS), Luigi finds Mario’s cap laundered in the Laundry Room. Next, in Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo GameCube), the Swipin’ Stus smash down on Mario and swipe his hat. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario’s cap disappears when he levels up to 99 lives. In Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii), when Luma leaves, he takes Mario’s cap with him as a souvenir. In Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo 3DS), Mario loses his cap when he turns into his small form, and when he is in his super form, he loses his cap once he has 1,110 lives. In New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo 3DS), Mario loses his cap whenever he levels up to 1,110 lives. In the games, Super Mario 3D World (Wii U), and Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo Switch), whenever Mario turns into his small form, he loses his cap. In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Nintendo Switch), After Mario, Rabbid Luigi, and Rabbid Peach arrive in Ancient Kingdom, a Garden Ziggy was using his blaster to shoot at them, and Mario’s cap gets knocked off. In Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch), Mario loses his cap a few times. First, Bowser throws his top hat at Mario and knocks his cap off. Mario gets his cap back after it becomes Cappy, and later we see Klepto the Condor again when he steals Cappy from Mario. And finally in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo Switch), Mario loses his cap when his super form size becomes small!

I wanted to write about this topic because I am an avid Mario fan and love when I see Mario losing his cap and wanted to trace the history so other's could find out too! If you want to learn more you can go onYouTube or to Super Mario Wiki.

Writer's Block And How To Cure It

By Helfry Flores

January 31st, 2022

Hey Everyone so, I have just run out of ideas to write about, I’m having what some people would call Writer’s Block. According to Google, "writer’s block is a condition in which you’re unable to think of what to write or to proceed with writing". Needless to say It sucks like Kirby, but I could show you some ways to get rid of writer’s block.

I did some research and here are three ways you can get past Writer's Block:

Enhance Your Workspace. Improve it by getting a bigger and better table, a pencil holder, and some folders.
Plan a Time And Make A Habit. If you're stuck on something try to set a time to take a break to either get a snack or do something else.
Try a Writing Prompt. You can also try writing a prompt, It could possibly help you along the way

That’s it for me, I’ll eventually think of another article to write about. The strategy I'm going to use today is #2 (Plan a Time and Make a Habit), hopefully that will get me out of this writer's block. Anyways, as Porky The Pig once said, “That’s All Folks!” I’ll see you all next time.

Super Smash Bros. Collection

By Justin Lowe

January 31st, 2022

Hey all. I'm back again with another review but I'm going to do something a little bit different this time. I'm going to review games in the Super Smash Bros collection (1999-2018). Back in 1999, the best game was the super smash bros on N64. It was a fighter game when all your favorite characters went head to head in one to four player settings. In 2001 super smash bros melee from Nintendo gamecube came on to the scene. They had an awesome game where you had to hit a sandbag with a bat. In 2008 super smash bros brawl came out with the Nintendo Wii. New characters arrived and the had solo and groups brawl but most importantly they had adventure mode called subspace emissary. Later in 2014, Super Smash Bros 4 for 3ds and wii came out. They had new characters and a new smash tour and smash run game. Finally in 2018, Nintendo released super smash bros ultimate for the Nintendo switch. The characters could battle but they they use spirits to help them to fight against galeem and dharkon and save the world.

Out of all of these games, my favorite is the 2018 release of Super Smash bros ultimate because they have all of the characters, boss battles, and adventure mode. It's just plain awesome. Definitely 5 stars from me.

What are your favorite smash bro games?

Top 3 Stations In New York: Part 4

By, Helfry Flores

January 31st, 2022

Hey everyone, Helfry here, back again with another Top 3 Stations in New York. So I had to make a decision whether I should keep this series as a trilogy, or turn It into a hexalogy. So I thought long and hard about this and came to the conclusion that I should give it 3 more parts. So without any further delay, let’s jump into it.

#1 West 4th Street-Washington Square: At first I was pretty skeptical about this station, but when I noticed the station layout for It I thought “Whoa! Those are some Levels” It’s nowhere near as crazy as the station layout as Time Square-42nd Street Or Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center But It got there, Okay . There aren’t any places to go around here, except for Washington Square Park and that’s about it, so Let's move on to the next station.

#2 Sutphin Blvd-Archer Ave & Howard Beach: Right away I’m gonna have to address the elephant in the room. In both stations you can transfer to the Airtrain to the JFK Airport, However in the Sutphin Blvd Station you can also transfer to The LIRR Jamaica Station. (Not to be confused with the country of Jamaica) Again there aren’t any places to go around here except for the transfers I mentioned above, now let’s move on to the final station.

#1 Prospect Park: This Is the third station I covered that takes place outside, the first one was the 125th Street Station on the (1) and the second was Queensboro Plaza on the (7) (N) and (W). So this station is obviously right by Prospect Park and it’s one of the few stations where you can transfer to a shuttle, in this case It’s the one that goes to Franklin Ave. And once again there isn’t anywhere else to go to besides Prospect Park as mentioned above.

So That’s 3 more stations reviewed so In the next two week I'm gonna do a Part 5, but I’m probably gonna run out of stations to talk about so I’ll see you next time.

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