The kids and I noticed that Snapple was on sale at the local market.
Check it out; instead of 10 for $10, it's 99 cents each! That's one whole cent off! That's 1% of sweet savings. Time to
stock up, obviously.
I think I surf too much. And I surf weird stuff too much. I dreamt the other night that I was surfing the internet and looking at an EVP website (i.e. a website with supposed recordings of supernatural voices recorded electronically). I listened to a couple of the recordings, and they were creepy but not unusual. I listened to one of them about three times, trying to hear a voice. My dreaming brain did a pretty good job generating an appropriately garbled sound that kind of sounded like a voice.
But how sad is it that I'm spending time dreaming about websites with that sort of BS? Other people are out there dreaming that they can do amazing or exciting things, dangerous things, forbidden things, daring things. I'm dreaming that I came across a weird website.
]]>But not all the problems teachers face are with the approach, curriculum or methods. Some problems are societal. You don't have to look far to find students who cannot focus on their studies because their school is plagued with poverty, hunger, the drug trade, and prostitution. Middle school is difficult enough without these factors.
It's all the worse, then, that we have to deal with superstition as well.
Pat Sinclair, who oversees substitute teachers in the Pasco County School District, was on the phone. She told Piculas there had been a complaint about his performance at Rushe Middle School in Land O' Lakes.
He asked what she meant.
"She said, 'You've been accused of wizardry,'
" Piculas said.
What was his crime? He made a toothpick disappear with some slight of hand and transparent tape. And then showed the kids how to do it.
Whatever other reasons that the school district said they fired him, this appears to have been a precipitating event. It shouldn't have even merited mention.
Think about all that mankind has learned and how it helps us make a little bit of sense out of the world around us. Think of our hopes for the future, which rest upon our friends and neighbors having some understanding of the world with all of its complexities. I am amazed we make any progress at all.
(Hat tip to Bob on EAForums.)
(P.S. If anyone doubts that teen prostitution is aproblem in schools:
The number of girls being sexually exploited through prostitution is rising rapidly in Boston, with 12 times as many cases of teen prostitution in the first nine months of 2005 as in all of 2003.
)
]]>When I was my daughters' ages, this is what kids in Massachusetts thought of when someone mentioned the science museum and the aquarium:
Nostalgia!
]]>He points out that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nomination hopefuls, both support Webb's proposal. Then he says this:
Well, you might be surprised at who is not supporting this effort. The Bush administration opposes it, and so does Senator John McCain.
Surprised? Only if you've bought into Republican and right-wing radio rhetoric.
I'm not surprised, and neither should you be. How many stories do we need to read about veterans getting short shrift before we get the message that the Republican party talks a good game about supporting the troops, but if you scratch the surface it turns out that Republicans and warbloggers are most enthusiastic about the troops when we're talking about sending them places to fight. And they love the opinions of the troops when that opinion is "LET US FIGHT!"
The support for the troops begins to evaporate when the troops return; it becomes largely symbolic. When the troops return, they sometimes return with a different opinion about war. An opinion less enthusiastic about war doesn't quite mesh with warblogger chickenhawk thinking. To them, our returning troops are more useful as quiet symbols, like the flag.
These people can have a lot of trouble returning from their tours. We owe it to them to help, and funding their education is a winning proposition. Don't forget this when someone wants you to equate flag-waving with patriotism. Don't let McCain get away with the political cover of his watered-down counter-proposal.
Actions speak louder than lapel pins.
]]>Having survived "Drink Like an Irishman Day!" (the exclamation point is part of the name) you are now in the midst of "Drink Like a Mexican Day!"
In the interest of being a more fair and balanced society, the government is renaming all holidays to more accurately reflect their observance, and offer guidance to the would-be reveler. I offer you a table with the provisional new names of various holidays.
St. Patrick's Day
| Old Name | New Name |
|---|---|
| St. Patrick's Day | Drink Like an Irishman Day! |
| Cinco de Mayo | Drink Like a Mexican Day! |
| Passover | Drink Like a Jew Day! |
| Eid ul-Fitr | Drink Like a Muslim Day! |
| Easter | Drink Like a Christian Day! |
| Columbus Day | Drink Like and Italian Day! |
| Bastille Day | Drink Like a Frenchman Day! |
| Thanksgiving Day | Drink Like a Puritan Day! |
| Patriot's Day | Drink Like a Continental Soldier Day! |
| Memorial Day | Drink Like a Union/Confederate Soldier Day! |
| Labor Day | Drink Like You're Unemployed Day! |
| Valentine's Day | Drink Like the Brokenhearted Day! |
| President's Day | Drink Like George W. Bush Is Going To Drink As Soon As He Gets Out of Office Day! |
| Martin Luther King Day | Drink Like It's Your Civil Right Day! |
| Independence Day | Drink Like an American Day |
| Halloween | Drink Like You Just Saw a Ghost Day! |
| Mardi Gras | Drink Like There's No Tomorrow Day! |
Suggestions for additional days welcome in the comments.
]]>I was first introduced to goat diapering when we had a petting zoo birthday party on a rainy day, and the nice lady diapered the goat so that we wouldn't have as big a cleanup job in our exercise room.
I have learened that not only is goat diapering popular in Iraq, but Islamist extremists are murdering Iraqis for failing to diaper their goats. They're not worried about cleanup; these are outdoor goats, after all. They're worried about modesty. They believe that un-diapered goats are too much of a sexual enticement to good muslim men. In other words, when a man has sex with a goat, it's the goat's fault.
But faulting the goat makes no sense, right? Goats can't diaper themselves. Clearly it's the fault of the guy who failed to put a diaper on the goat. And retribution is swift and absolute: death comes to those who fail to diaper their goats.
My source is this NPR story. Iraq Still Manages to Shock by John Hendren.
Hat tip to Heretical Ideas blog for bringing this to my attention.
[* New to this blog? We were, at one time, Number One in Goat Diapering because of a post "I believe in Goats" about a petting zoo we had in our house.
If that's not enough of a blast-from-the-past, I bring you the unrelated Great Buntloaf Incident of 2005. Maggie and I are overdue to host a dinner party. We have pictures, but the bundtloaf recipe has been lost to the ages.]
]]>To make a somewhat geeky reference, when I think of administration, I think of the Steward of Gondor. And when I think of leadership, I think of Aragorn. Sorry, but it seemed like a nice example, even if it does come with a lot of baggage.
To let you know what started me thinking along these lines, I was reading the excellent local blog A View From Battleship Cove and the post "School Surplus." Lefty is talking about the possibility of improvements in the city of Fall River, and he makes the sensible observation that changes should fit into the fabric of the city. (Nice play on words for the Spindle City, by the way, Lefty.) This post is not really a response to Lefty, or an effort to address the subject of his post, but it did get me thinking.
It made me think of the difference between improvements and a vision. It made me think of a comment that my old boss JJK used to say about certain situations: "Better is easy; good is hard." It made me think of lessons my father, an expert in large project management, tried to teach me about how showing progress (real progress) often does not tell you anything about whether you're any closer to achieving your goals.
And I think this relates to administration vs. leadership because successful administration simply administers, keeping a system alive with little measurable improvement or deterioration. Progress can be reported here or there, but it is not progress toward anything specific. Like a healthy-looking raise that is outpaced by inflation, or a tax cut that is consumed by rising costs of living, it is something that looks good enough to distract you from a deeper understanding of your situation.
My point is not to defame administrators or administration. It can be hard work keeping a system going. And sometimes the status quo is good and nobody sees a need for much change. But I do think that "progress" is a concept misused by many administrators to put off criticism in times when people want a leader. In my opinion, it's better not to tout treading water as progress.
Leaders can be distinguished by their vision. Of course, any nut with an imagination can have a vision. And that's most nuts. But a leader should also have a plan to achieve that vision. And such a plan should have milestones which are true measures of progress.
I am not an expert on city planning, but when people complain about their municipality, I wonder if they ought not to ask their elected officials whether they are administrators or leaders. One is appropriate for a content population and the other is appropriate for times when real improvement is being called for. Are elected officials fulfilling the needs of the people by leading when leadership is needed? And if they say they are leading, are they exhibiting the attributes of leadership, not only in the charisma that we associate with some leaders, but in the presence of a vision and a plan and milestones that add up to the achievement of a goal?
Good is hard. You can get away with a lot if you can just avoid being tied to goals and milestones. You can spend a lot of time and money.
]]>Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores.
I'll be stopping in with the kids at StillPoint comics at their new location in Fall River. Check them out if you're in the SouthCoast. Bring the kids! Or, use the participating store locator. Newbury Comics is also participating.
]]>I find myself doing critical tasks that are not on my To Do list, and so I don't get to cross them off the list when I am done. So my crossed-off list looks paltry, even when I'm making progress on critical tasks.
I guess this means that I need to capture critical tasks to my To Do list better, and perhaps get more detailed with breaking them down. Perhaps as soon as I am about to do something that is not on my To Do list, I should take that as an indication that I need to spend a few moments fixing my To Do list. Because, not only should the list help me plan, it ought to give me some indication of progress as I cross stuff off, no? That's a form of motivation.
On the other hand, there are times when there are many small, unwritten but priority tasks so small that they take only a few short minutes to complete. In some organizational systems you're encouraged to handle microtasks and get them out of the way rather than track them.
That makes sense. But I still think you should backfill those tasks if you get some satisfaction out of crossing them off. Plus, your crossed-off list is more accurate if it includes those tasks.
]]>
The kids and I noticed that Snapple was on sale at the local market.
Check it out; instead of 10 for $10, it's 99 cents each! That's one whole cent off! That's 1% of sweet savings. Time to
stock up, obviously.
Have a good afternoon.
]]>
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Following on last night's story, I looked up the Pledge on Wikipedia and thought I'd take a couple of moments to discuss my feelings about the Pledge itself. Lest I be misunderstood.
If you love your country (and your country is the united States of America) and you interpret the Pledge as simply an expression of those feelings, it will probably puzzle you why anyone should object to the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Pledge of Allegiance criticism
The criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States exists on several grounds. Its use in public schools has been the most controversial, as critics contend that a government-sanctioned endorsement of religion violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Critics feel that that the pledge is incompatible with democracy and freedom, and suggest that pledges of allegiance are features of totalitarian states like Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
You can visit the article for the different challenges to public school recitation of the pledge. I figured I'd give a brief summary of my objections, and then some positive comments.
What do I like about the Pledge? While the Pledge itself is flawed, I believe that the intentions of most of the people who support the Pledge are in the correct place. I am fond of an open and liberal society. I often find myself agreeing with libertarian opinions. But I don't believe that liberty alone gets you very far. I think we need to love our country because why else would we care to want to improve it or help it succeed? Selfish reasons alone are not enough.
Recognizing how other people have given of themselves to the common good of the country is a much better way to honor and promote values that hold our society together.
]]>Eighteen-year-old Tyner Academy senior Quinesha Garrett was removed this week from daytime classes and ordered to night school, where the pledge is not recited.
She refused to say the Pledge, so she's probably some kind of terrorist or other.
But there is a happy end to this story. Ms. Garrett simply told the administration that she had political reasons for not reciting the Pledge at this time, and that she felt it was part of her exercise of freedom of speech. And they let her back in!
I'm totally kidding. She told them it was against her religion.
Sometimes I wish non-theists could get notes from god, but he tends not to return our phone calls.
]]>Bisphenol-a (BPA) has been shown to cause mammary and prostate changes in mice, and to accelerate puberty in some tests of female mouse pups. So, if you're a mouse pup you should probably be very concerned. But even we folks who are not mouse pups might want to consider reducing our exposure to bisphenol-a. Especially if you are a human child, since you're closer in size to a mouse pup.
According to NYT, it's safe to assume that any hard, clear plastic container is made from polycarbonate which can leech BPA. You know that water filter pitcher you're using to filter out impurities in your water? it's probably leeching some BPA into your water. You're welcome!
Between you and me, I'd be more worried about the polycarbonates that are lining the inside of food cans. To prevent food from reacting with the metal, manufacturers line many cans with polycarbonate. And after the food is added to the can, the can is heated, which can increase the transfer of BPA from the plastic to the food. So, people trying to feed their kids canned veggies are exposing them to BPA.
This is one of those really fuzzy risks. BPA hasn't been proved to cause problems in humans, so no ban of clear plastic water bottles is looming. But Wal-Mart has already started taking all BPA-containing baby products off the shelves. But if you're an adult who gets a lot of his veggie intake from canned foods, are you really at a lower risk is you, say, give up canned foods and eat fewer vegetables? Ideally, experts have recommended switching to fresh veggies for people trying to limit their exposure to BPA. But when you tell people to stop doing what they're used to for food, you don't know what they'll replace it with.
When many people are confused about how to eat healthy diets just considering the foods that are available, additional news like this is going to throw an additional wrench into the equation.
]]>