Proceedings in the Life and Work of an
Elk Mountain Home School Student
By Abram Leyzorek,
Twelfth Grade
The Latest Works
June 29, 2019
Chess!
Recently, I added a page to this website dedicated to chronicling my brave adventures onto the high seas of rated tournament chess. More specifically, I started a chess blog on chess.com which you can find a link to on the new page, as well as learn about my chess life up until now.
May 01, 2019
Nuclear Power Subsidies: Are They Worth It?
This is a research paper I wrote for my college English class. It's an argument against government subsidization of of the nuclear power industry. First, it explains a little of the history of nuclear power subsidies and some of the current types subsidies. Then, it discusses the disadvantages of nuclear power and why it is not a viable option to solve many of the issues its supporters claim it as a solution for, such as global warming and the energy crisis. When I finished writing this research paper for my English class, I got an assignment from my engineering history course to write about how a new or currently developing technology has or will affect society. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and reuse most of the information from my research paper in a new paper about the history and future of nuclear power as well as its affects on society. I took some inapplicable information out and added a little bit more on the history of nuclear power to complete the assignment. Both papers are published here on here on this website, but I suggest you read this one, my English class research paper, first and then only the introduction of the other paper, because the rest is just a repeat of the research paper. I plan to combine these two papers and expand them into a larger, more comprehensive paper on the merits and disadvantages of nuclear power, so I would appreciate feedback on what to add or change. I hope you enjoy!
February 14, 2019
Why the “Fact-Checker” Websites Need Fact-Checking on President Trump’s Border Wall
I wrote this essay for my English 102 class in argument. It is a persuasive essay arguing that "fact-checker" websites, such as Politifact and the Washington Post's The Fact Checker, ought not be trusted completely. I demonstrate this reviewing a sample of three of Trump's claims about his proposed border wall that the fact-checkers have taken issue with and testing their evidence and reasoning. The results were quite shocking.
September 13, 2018
The Loon Adventure, by Odysseus Leyzorek
This narrative written by my little brother, Odysseus, describes the events of an exciting two days that occurred several months ago, such as a nine-hour hike through an unfamiliar tract of woods punctuated by acres of rhododendron thickets and, most importantly, saving a hapless loon. Enjoy and let us know what you think!
September 06, 2018
New Member Contribution Page!
Great news! Now members have a place of their own on this website to post their original works, whether they be art, photography, essays of any kind, or poetry. To get published, its as simple as posting your work on the forum in a thread titled "member contribution: category." Substitute the category that your work falls under for "category. I will then evaluate it and post it! Please include a title and any other descriptive information that you can about it, especially if it is a photograph.
June 25, 2018
Ode to a Toasted Tractor- Version 1.
A couple of months ago, I decided to feed the cows a bale of hay all on my own. The little Yanmar 1500 tractor that we normally use to transport hay will not start in the cold unless it is warmed up. Normally a torch will do the trick, but, if it is cold enough, a fire must be built underneath it. I had never seen my father do this before, so I built a big campfire underneath the tractor and melted the wiring and fuel tank. There was a little bit of cold diesel fuel in the tank that, thankfully, kept it from melting all the way through and causing far greater damage. My father reprimanded me for attempting this without knowing what I was doing, and we spent the next couple of weeks repairing the tractor. This poem commemorates this exciting event.
June 24, 2018
Every month from now on, I will be hosting a photo of the month challenge! If you wish to participate, you may submit up to three of your best photographs via my email address, mr.leyzorek@gmail.com. The winning photograph will be displayed as the background of my homepage for one full month. Criteria include quality, creativity, and originality. Other than that, pretty much anything goes! Please specify in your submission if you wish to remain anonymous and not have your name, or alias, published. All winning photos will be posted in the photo gallery as well.
June 24, 2018
Toad Eats Worm
This experiment in videography was conducted in my door yard in which there is a stone retaining wall around a flowerbed. Lately, several toads have been hanging out in the crevasses between the stones and we have been regularly feeding them worms. This video hilariously documents one such meal time.
June 23, 2018
This is a question around which a heated debate has been going around the world, a question that has been the basis of many recent political decisions, such as United States president Donald Trump's policy on immigration to the United States. How well founded are Trump's fears? This paper analyzes the question from the theoretical, historical, and psychological perspectives.
June 24, 2018
Photosynthesis is a complex, multi-stepped chemical reaction that uses energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars that the plant can consume. The fact that the process removes heat from the plant's surroundings by absorbing the sunlight means that photosynthesis is an endothermic reaction, a chemical reaction that absorbs heat. But there is so much to photosynthesis, some of which is included in this paper.