A Dog's Purpose

A Dog's Purpose

By W. Bruce Cameron

Read in 8th Grade
A dog is born in nearby a river with his mother and three siblings. They are wild scavengers, and the mother teaches them to fear humans. However, one of the dogs feels an irresistible attraction to them, which inevitably gets the pack caught. They are taken to the Yard, where he is named Toby. He enjoys his life there, but one day, a fighter dog named Spike arrives and upsets everything. He injures Toby, and soon after, the owners of the Yard are forced to give up their dogs due to "mistreatment". Toby dies, and is reincarnated as a new puppy in a breeding facility. Using some knowledge from his life as Toby, he escapes his pen, and goes out into world, eventually being picked up by a family who names him Bailey. He and the boy, Ethan, are soul mates, doing everything together, and Ethan leads a cheerful life. Then one day, a bitter ex-friend named Todd injures him in an arson. Ethan is crippled, and he loses everything - girlfriend, football, scholarship.

CNN 10 5/11/2020 ~ 5/15/2020

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Monday, May 11, 2020

Quick COVID update. More than 4 million people have tested positive, with hundreds of thousands dying. Most people do recover, but its death rate is higher than the seasonal flu. Over a fourth of cases are in the US, with nearly 1.5 million infections. Beyond that, the jobless rate is now 14.7 %, the highest its been since the Great Depression, as people are laid off and lose jobs. Some artists are using creativity to stay positive. They have drawn what they have been doing in their spare time, for example, the image at left. They encourage us to use creativity, instead of using tutorials. Fog is what happens when clouds condense at low altitude, and you can make your own! Pour boiling water in a jar for a few minutes, pour all but a little bit out, and put a strainer full of ice on top. The cool air on top mixes with the rising hot air to form indoor fog. Did you know that people once hated lobsters? They once washed up on beaches without humans bothering them. Now, lobster fishing is such a big industry that there are tours to watch people catch lobsters.

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Reader's Digest May 2020

Reader's Digest May 2020
This week's cover story is about how everything we do online leaves a footprint. Companies like Google and Facebook can track you using cookies, what you look at and search, etc. But there are also other things that can track you. First, your TV. TVs are getting cheaper, but it's partly because the new smart TVs can sell your information, money-makers for the manufacturers. If you read the privacy policies carefully, you may find your TV tracks every. single. pixel. Also a hot topic these days - smart speakers. You may have heard Google Home, Alexa, or Siri burst in on conversations or TV, thinking you called for it. But this is scary. It means the speakers are listening to everything, waiting for its command word. The companies claim they do not use their recordings for profit, but it's best to be wary. Cars are getting smarter, too.