Spot Those Turns!

Solve the Mystery of a Check Engine Light

2011-06-01T01:14:00.000-06:00

Perhaps the most mysterious warning light on your car's dashboard is the "check engine" light, which can illuminate seemingly for no reason whatsoever and lead to an unexpected bill just for diagnosing the cause. However, it is possible to diagnose, and sometimes even fix, the cause of this warning light without paying a mechanic.

Your car's check engine light is linked to its on-board diagnostic system, which measures functions such as engine speed, ignition timing, fuel mixture and sometimes, the timing of gear shifts. It then uses that information to identify problems in those functions that could affect emissions and performance. There is a wide range of problems that will cause the light to illuminate, ranging from minor to major, so it's important to determine the cause promptly.

Before you find yourself in a situation with the check engine light illuminated, read your owner's manual to understand why it may illuminate and if it has different warnings to help you understand whether the problem is minor or more serious. In many cars, a check engine light that flashes rhythmically -- not just flickers on and off -- indicates a severe problem that needs immediate attention, while a steadily illuminated light indicates a less serious problem.

Once you thoroughly understand how your check engine light operates, here are three strategies you can try before paying your mechanic for a diagnosis.

Remove and reinstall your gas cap, and make sure it's tight. Because the check engine light is associated with your car's emissions system, it will recognize if there are fuel vapors leaking from around your gas cap and set off the warning light. A loose or improperly installed gas cap is the most common reason for the light to illuminate. If the light does not go out after checking the gas cap and the car seems to be running fine, don't assume that was not the problem. It can sometimes take a few trips for the system to reset.

Get the engine's diagnostic code from an automotive pro for free. If you own a General Motors vehicle with OnStar, contact an OnStar adviser who will read the code from your car remotely. Many auto parts stores and franchise oil change and transmission-service shops will read the code for free, though they may pressure you to do the repair with them. If you get a code read by one of these shops, ask for the code itself -- usually a single letter, followed by numbers -- and then use the shop for the repair if you are confident of the work.

Get the code yourself. For $50 to $100, you can buy a diagnostic-system code reader at your local auto parts store or online. Some newer system scanners can connect right to your smartphone, such as the GoPoint GL1.

Many cars have some method of displaying the trouble code, usually using the key and either rotating it between the accessory position (the position where you can power the radio and other accessories without the car running) and the "on" position (without starting the car) a specific number of times. With some, you keep the key in the accessory position, and push and hold the trip odometer and reset buttons. To find instructions, do an Internet search on the year, make and model of your car plus the words "check engine code" and "manually."

Once you know the code, you can research what it is associated with on websites such as OBD-Codes.com (for on-board diagnostics codes) or ALLDATAdiy.com.
In some cases, you can get instructions on how to repair the car yourself on those websites.

Keep in mind that, if there is a problem beyond a loose gas cap, the trouble code produced by the diagnostic equipment is usually associated with more than one problem. Ultimately, it's good to work with a trusted mechanic who can deduce the cause of the problem in your car.

by Tara Baukus Mello

SOURCE: Yahoo Finance

Beneath My Heart Giveaway

2011-04-11T17:23:00.000-06:00

I hope I win the $50.00 coupon to Dayspring!!
The giveaway there is a cool one.

Check it out for yourself!
http://www.beneathmyheart.net

The blog is a good resource for "decorating on a dime" and generating new creative ideas.

<~~ Here is one of my favorites -- a tutu punch bowl!

And what about some adorable baby booties made with a Styrofoam cup, tulle, a staple and a ribbon dabbed with glue? How simple is that?!

And wait until you see the result!

SOURCE: http://www.beneathmyheart.net/2010/04/cute-baby-shower-idea-and-some/

February's Budding Moon

2011-02-18T12:31:00.001-06:00

Tonight is February's Full Budding Moon!

For centuries, full moons have been given specific names by various cultures and civilizations from around the world. These special moon names helped people keep track of the seasons and were often inspired by nature and agriculture.

Since the heaviest snow usually falls during the month of February, Native American tribes of the north and east most often called this month’s full moon the Full Snow Moon.
Some tribes also referred to it as the Full Hunger Moon or Little Famine Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.
Forced to gnaw on bones and sip bone marrow soup for sustenance, the Cherokee named it the Full Bony Moon.
Around the globe, the Celts called February’s moon the Moon of Ice, while the Chinese named it the Budding Moon in anticipation of spring. I like that name the best!

SOURCE:

Farmers' Almanac

Read more about Full Moon names

Pictionary + Whisper Down the Lane = Fun!

2011-02-05T15:25:00.002-06:00

PARTY GAMES have upsides and downsides. On the upside, they add structure to a party, helping break the ice and turning strangers into new friends. On the downside, most people HATE party games (or at least think they do). That’s because they haven’t played this goofy game.

This little drawing game is equal parts Pictionary and Whisper Down the Lane and will keep any group of five or more entertained for at least half an hour. It’s great for parties of all kinds because it is easy to learn, fun to play, and non-competitive; the game is all about the experience and reviewing the oft-ridiculous results.

I learned about this game from a fellow blogger who read about it in a newspaper column by Orson Scott Card (a great author of speculative fiction). Here's what you do:

1) Get supplies. Grab some paper and your writing/drawing implements of choice. Half-sheets of notebook or copy paper are sufficient; every person will need as many sheets of paper as there are players (5 players = 25 sheets total, 6 players = 36 sheets total, etc.) . I keep a fistful of pens and a notepad around for just these occasions.

2) Circle up the players and label your first sheet. Sit in a rough circle and assign each player a letter, starting with “A.” Everyone must write their letter and a “1″ on their first page. This is the only time these people will write this letter; don’t label all of your papers!

3) Write a caption and pass it on. Each player must write a sentence on his or her paper. Any sentence at all will do, but it does help if it’s something ridiculous and yet possible to draw. All players pass their paper to the left.

4) Draw a picture based on the caption, but only pass on the picture. Everyone should write the letter they received and a “2″ on a new sheet of paper (be careful, because someone usually messes up the lettering or numbering in every game). On this page, each player should draw a picture to represent the sentence received. Think of the sentence as a caption for the picture. When finished, everyone will pass their latest paper to the left; keep the first paper face-down.

5) Write a caption for the picture you received. Label a new page with the same letter you just received, and write a “3″ because this is the third round. Now, try to decipher the drawing and write down a caption for it on your new page. Pass this paper to the left. Keep the drawing you received face-down.

6) Continue until the circle is complete. Continue the caption-to-drawing-to-caption routine until you run out of pages. If you passed out the right number of pages, the number on your final piece of paper will be the same as the number of players.

7) Match up the pages by letter. Return the lettered pages to the people who wrote the original captions. For example, the person who started with “A” should collect all of the “A” pages.

8) Laugh at the results. Have each person share their results with the entire group. Revel in how each sentence was distorted and altered throughout the game. With at least five players, it is very rare for many statements to survive the process intact.

Laugh with each other. Start again if desired.
Sometimes, it results in very straightforward verbal and visual translations. Usually, it devolves into madness. The more people, the better. Here are a few examples picked from actual games:

B1-B5 (above): The basic theme of a throbbing heart survived to the end of the game. Everything else changed.

C1-C5 (above): Notice that the drawings are quite similar even though the caption changed completely.

E1-E5 (above): The original statement about the goat and the wallet was clearly intended to produce ridiculous drawings. Not surprisingly, the final message at the end might as well be “purple monkey dishwasher.”

Even if you don’t like most games, don’t knock this one until you try it. The game usually results in fits of laughter both during the drawing/writing process and during the final reviews. If there’s a winner, it’s whoever got the most laughs. What’s not to like about that?

PS) A suggestion for managing the numbering process: use larger sheets of paper and fold over the previous statement / drawing before passing the paper. That helps to simplify things and keeps a consistent record for each phrase / drawing chain. This method may enable cheating, but since this game has no winner, cheating would be pretty sad. The biggest disadvantage is that your drawing space is significantly reduced. For some reason bigger paper is more fun!

Another DRAWING GAME!

That's My New Philosophy (#1)

2011-02-02T09:03:00.000-06:00

Space is invisible mind dust and stars are for wishing.

Name the source and . . . . it will shock me! Here is more.

Space Star Ordering . . . .

Visualize the thing you want. Draw a picture of the thing you want - on a piece of paper. Then stand, with your back to space, throw the paper over your shoulder and wish really hard.

How exactly did you stand with your back to space?

I waited 'til night time.

I Should've Ordered Glutinous Rice Chicken!

2011-01-27T00:48:00.004-06:00

Can we all say, "Lost in translation?"

This is a list of actual English subtitles from real Hong Kong Kung Fu Movies.

These are the results of the original Chinese dialogue being rendered — or rather, beaten out of recognizable shape — into English:

1. "I am damn unsatisfied to be killed in this way."

2. "Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep."

3. "Gun wounds again?"

4. "Same old rules: no eyes, no groin."

5. "A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries."

6. "I'll burn you into a barbecue chicken!"

7. "Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?"

8. "Quiet or I'll blow your throat up."

9. "You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken!"

10. "I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!"

11. "You daring lousy guy!"

12. "I got knife scars more than the number of your leg's hair!"

13. "Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected."

14. "How can you use my intestines as a gift?"

15. "The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?"

16. "Beat him out of recognizable shape."

H/T: Patrick Madrid

Want Love That Goes the Distance?

2011-01-23T20:17:00.001-06:00

1. Physical appearance
While physical appearance and attraction draw two people together at first, these aspects will affect the rest of their lives. If working out and staying fit is important to you, will it bum you out if your mate doesn’t share your quest for rock-hard abs?

2. Emotional maturity
Is this person emotionally mature and centered or still lugging around some trunk-sized baggage? How does your sweetheart relate to family and friends? Is he or she emotionally supportive or have control issues? Is your mate aware of his or her own issues and interested in addressing them?

3. Lifestyle choices
This includes career and social lives, common interests, leisure time activities and energy levels. Would she rather join the bowling league or the metropolitan symphony? Does he have lots of energy for activities with friends while she’d rather rest and chill out at home?

4. Financial compatibility
This is a hot bed for most couples. It includes income levels, savings goals and views on handling money. How do you each want to spend, save and invest? Is one person a spender while the other saves? Is one person financially responsible while the other plays catch-up with child support and bills?

5. Value structure
This area is often overlooked but has a tremendous impact on your life. It includes the big values: honesty, integrity, loyalty, views on family and children, religion and spirituality, life goals and the treatment and care for others. Does your mate follow through on promises made? Would you say this person is trustworthy? Will you always be there for each other in a pinch?

6. Marriage and intimacy
Everyone does not share the same idea of marriage. The big questions to address are: What do you and your mate expect from marriage? Is he or she looking for a soul mate? Do you both want close intimacy beyond the physical aspect, including with your friendships and in private communications with each other?

7. Intelligence
Having similar education levels increases your chances of sharing matching school and social experiences, intellectual interests and career goals. What topics do you and your honey like to talk about? Conversation limited to sports or shopping may get boring to someone who likes to ponder philosophy and bluster about business.

While you don’t have to match exactly in each area, look at the big picture and make sure you match closely enough in the important areas of your life to up your chances of finding a love that will go the distance.

author Dee Anne Merriman is a freelance writer who often covers relationship issues.

Lunar Eclipse - December 21, 2010

2010-12-18T14:22:00.001-06:00

Total Lunar Eclipse of December 21

The last lunar eclipse of 2010 is especially well placed for observers throughout North America. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node in eastern Taurus, four days before perigee.

The Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the northern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 72 minutes. The Moon's path through Earth's shadows as well as a map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event are shown in Figure 4. The timings of the major eclipse phases are listed below.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins:   05:29:17 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins:     06:32:37 UT
Total Eclipse Begins:       07:40:47 UT
Greatest Eclipse:           08:16:57 UT
Total Eclipse Ends:         08:53:08 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends:       10:01:20 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends:     11:04:31 UT

The entire event is visible from North America and western South America. Observers along South America's east coast miss the late stages of the eclipse because they occur after moonset. Likewise much of Europe and Africa experience moonset while the eclipse is in progress. Only northern Scandinavians can catch the entire event from Europe. For observers in eastern Asia the Moon rises in eclipse. None of the eclipse is visible from south and east Africa, the Middle East or South Asia.

Table 6 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for 20 well-defined lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement of Earth's shadow (see Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).

The December 21 total lunar eclipse belongs to Saros 125 a series of 72 eclipses in the following sequence: 17 penumbral, 13 partial, 26 total, 9 partial, and 7 penumbral lunar eclipses (Espenak and Meeus, 2009). Complete details for the series can be found at:

eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaros125.html

Hiding (One of my Favorite Childhood Poems)

2010-12-01T17:01:00.000-06:00

I'm hiding, I'm hiding
And no one knows where;
For all they can see is my
Toes and my hair

And I just heard my father
Say to my mother -
"But, darling, he must be
Somewhere or other;

Have you looked in the inkwell?"
And Mother said, "Where?"
"In the INKWEL?"said Father. But
I was not there.

Then "Wait!" cried my mother —
"I think that I see
Him under the carpet." But
It was not me.

"Inside the mirror's
A pretty good place."
Said Father and looked, but saw
Only his face.

"We've hunted," sighed Mother,
"As hard as we could
And I am so afraid that we've
Lost him for good."

Then I laughed out aloud
And I wiggled my toes
And Father said —"Look, dear,
I wonder if those

Toes could be Benny's?
There are ten of them, see?"
And they WERE so surprised to find
Out it was me!

Billy Collins' Litany - Recited by a 3 year old

2010-08-22T06:08:00.000-06:00

The author's reading (and explanation - quite funny!)
Note:
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
-Jacques Crickillon

Your Oxymoron for the Day

2010-08-05T18:10:00.000-06:00

H/T Patrick Madrid :-)
You really should check out his book: The Godless Delusion
written by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley

Insect Eating Clock? I Kid You Not!

2010-07-16T13:38:00.001-06:00

What do you think about a clock that runs on energy derived from digesting insects that it captures?

This is some cool thinking outside the box! Talk about using the concept of a non-toxic fuel cell that is also self sustaining!

You'll never look at a clock the same way again . . . . because you will remember this new time-piece.

This prototype clock traps insects on flypaper stretched across its roller system before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The ensuing chemical reaction, or "digestion," is transformed into power that keeps the rollers rollin' and the LCD clock ablaze.

The inventors also offer an alternative design fueled by mice, another contraption whose robotic arm plucks insect-fuel from spider webs with the help of a video camera, and a lamp powered by insects lured to their deaths with ultraviolet LEDs.

Man, this is so wrong it has to be right . . . . or, at least on the right track

SOURCING:
Designers -- UK-based James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau
Engadget

Am I Krumping Now?

2010-06-23T22:15:00.000-06:00

This still just makes me smile and giggle!!

BP - It's a Sign!

2010-06-23T12:05:00.000-06:00

Just had to share this . . . .

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew

2010-06-21T01:50:00.001-06:00

We actually want you to be honest.
Too many job applicants approach the interview as if their only goal is to win a job offer, losing sight of the fact that this can land them in the wrong job. Think of it like dating. This means being honest about your strengths and weaknesses and giving the hiring manager a glimpse of the real you, so he or she can make an informed decision about how well you'd do in the job.

We pay attention to the small stuff.
Frequently, candidates act as if only “official” contacts—like interviews and formal writing samples—count during the hiring process. They'll send flawless cover letters and then check up on their applications with sloppily written E-mails with spelling errors. Or they'll be charming and polite to the interviewer but rude to an assistant. Attention is paid to how quickly a candidate responds to requests for writing samples and references, and even how fast he returns phone calls.

We want you to ask questions.
Many candidates don't have many—or even any—questions when asked. Your interviewer wants to know that you're interested in the details of the job, the department, your prospective supervisor's management style, and the culture of the organization. Otherwise, you risk signaling that you're either not that interested or just haven't thought very much about it.

We'd like a thank-you note right away.

E-mail is fine for this and has the advantage of arriving faster, but handwritten notes are still appreciated (and are increasingly unusual so will stand out). And if there are multiple interviews, send a thank-you note each time.

We're hoping for some enthusiasm.
Commonly, job seekers are too worried about looking desperate. It doesn't look desperate to express your interest in the job or check in to ask about the hiring timeline. However, enthusiasm does cross the line if you are calling more than once a week, calling earlier than the date they said they'd get back to you, sounding like you're eager to take any job as opposed to this one in particular, or appearing as if this is the only option you have.

We need to know your real weaknesses.
Claiming that your biggest weakness is perfectionism and you work too hard is disingenuous. It looks like you're avoiding the question. Candidates who can't or won't come up with a realistic assessment of areas where they could improve make me think they're lacking in insight and self-awareness—or, at a minimum, just making it impossible to have a real discussion of their potential fitness for the job. Interviewers want to know about your weaknesses not because they are trying to trip you up, but because they genuinely care about making sure you're a good fit for the job.

You should address being overqualified in your cover letter.
If you don't acknowledge it, we're afraid that you'll be bored, that you don't understand the position, that the salary will be too low for you. We need to hear things like:

“At this stage in my career, having a job I enjoy is more important to me than salary. I have no problem earning less than I have in the past.”

“I want to move into this field, and I know that I need to start at a lower level in order to do that.”

“I wouldn't take a job I'm not excited about.”Your resume objective usually hurts you.
Your resume gets tossed when it lists an objective totally unrelated to the position that is open. Really, just get rid of the objective altogether. It rarely helps, often hurts, and always takes up valuable real estate that could be better used to showcase your accomplishments. If you want to talk about your career objective and how this position fits it, use the cover letter for that.

The phone interview is not a casual chat.
While the interviewer wants to get a sense of your personality, a phone interview is still an interview, not an informal phone call with a friend. Don't sound stiff, but don't use the same tone you'd use to talk about your date last night.
One interviewer reports, "I've phone-interviewed candidates that I'm pretty sure were lounging on the couch, watching the game with the sound down, and snacking while we talked."

You shouldn't count on our job offer.
Whatever you do, don't let up on your job search, no matter how confident you are that an offer is coming. Things change; other candidates come along; plans for the position evolve or even get canceled. Until you have a firm offer in hand, you have to proceed as if you don't, since ultimately you can control only your side of the process—so keep setting up those other interviews.

We may check references beyond your list.
Simply not listing that person as a reference isn't enough; Reference-checkers can call anyone you've worked for or who might know you, even if they aren't on the list you provide. In fact, smart reference-checkers will make a point of calling people not on your list, because presumably you've only listed the people most likely to present you in the best light.

We don't like being stalked.
When you're searching for a job, enthusiasm is a good thing. But some job applicants cross the line from enthusiastic and proactive to obnoxiously aggressive—and, in doing so, kill their chances at a job offer. You have crossed the line if you are doing any of the following (Make sure you are NOT doing the following):

Checking on the status of your application daily
Calling and hanging up when you get voice mail, over and over
Cold-calling numerous employees in the same company

Some of us actually care about candidates. (Quote from a recruiter/interviewer)
"One of the biggest complaints I hear from job seekers who write to me at Ask a Manager is about companies that don't respond to job applicants: no rejection, nothing. Personally, I think it's inexcusable—throughout the hiring process, but particularly after a company has engaged with an applicant in some way, like a phone interview or an in-person interview. It's callous and dismissive and lacks any appreciation for the fact that the candidate is anxiously waiting to hear an answer—any answer—and keeps waiting and waiting, long after a decision has been made."

You can gain an edge with your cover letter.
Individualize. Yes, it takes a lot longer than sending out the same form letter over and over, but a well-written cover letter that's obviously individualized to a specific opening is going to open doors when your resume alone might not have. These account for such a tiny fraction of applications that you'll stand out and immediately go to the top of the interviewer's pile. And it will get you an extra look, even if your resume isn't stellar.

You can be too early to the interview.
Many interviewers are annoyed when candidates show up more than five or ten minutes early, since they may feel obligated to interrupt what they're doing and go out to greet the person, and some feel vaguely guilty leaving someone sitting in their reception area that long. Aim to walk in five minutes early, but no more than that.

You can leave the subjective descriptions off the resume.
Your resume is for experience and accomplishments only. It's not the place for subjective traits, like “great leadership skills” or “creative innovator.” I ignore anything subjective that an applicant writes about herself, because so many people's self-assessments are wildly inaccurate and I don't yet know enough about the candidate to have any idea if hers is reliable or not.

Your resume should answer one key question.
The vast majority of resumes I see read like a series of job descriptions, listing duties and responsibilities at each position the job applicant has held. But resumes that stand out do something very different.
For each position, they answer the question: What did you accomplish in this job that someone else wouldn't have?

New grads need work experience.
Find a way to get actual work experience before you leave school. Do internships every semester you are able, so that you have experience on your resume. Paid, unpaid, whatever it takes. If a part-time job of a few hours a week is all you have time for outside of your classes, that's fine. Do that. No one will hire you? Find work experience as a volunteer—that counts too.

We think a lot about your personality.
You might not get hired because your working style would clash with the people you'd be working with. Often, one personality type will simply fit better into a department than another will, and that's the kind of thing that's very difficult (if not impossible) for a candidate to know. Remember, it's not just a question of whether you have the skills to do the job, it's also a question of fit for this particular position, with this particular boss, in this particular culture, in this particular company.

We want you to talk in interviews, but be concise.
There's always at least one otherwise-qualified candidate in any hiring round who kills their chances by being too long-winded. You might think, “Well, some people are long-winded, but it doesn't mean he wouldn't do a good job.” The problem is that, at a minimum, it signals that you're not good at picking up on conversational cues, and raises doubts about your ability to organize your thoughts and convey needed information quickly.

Be honest in interviews, but don't spill about a bad boss.
You're far better off explaining that you're looking for new challenges, excited about this particular opportunity, taking the time to find something right, and so forth. You should never be less than forthright but in the area, of talking about your previous employers - be careful what you say.

by Alison Green

U.S.News & World Report, L.P.

Dog Diary and Cat Diary

2010-05-23T22:54:00.002-06:00

The Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary

Day 983 of My Captivity

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now . . . .

Hudsucker Proxy

2010-05-19T11:21:00.001-06:00

Mimeographs, Rotary Phones and Typewriters

2010-05-09T11:48:00.002-06:00

I was going over my list of things to do and I'd actually written:

4. Run off scripts for the play

Hello! In what century am I living?!!"
If you are over 40 you might know what "run off" means in this context!
I chuckled and was reminded of what Sr Mary Martha wrote in her blog recently. I paraphrased (don't I always?) Here it is:

We don't mimeograph anymore. That's good, because I think people enjoyed inhaling the mimeograph ink way too much. On the other hand, the teachers and kids were almost always in a good mood.

You know, when I was little one of the big reasons I wanted to be a teacher was so I could run that mimeograph machine and pass out those lovely purply pages while deeply reveling in that school fragrance.

This whole mini flash back got me thinking. Most kids today don't know what rotary phones and typewriters look like -- much less how they work. I must throw in this small fact -- my 8 year old son uses my rotary phone routinely. It is avocado green and was the "cooolest" thing when I was in Jr. High. (remember Jr. High?)
Anyway, his friends think he is a genius for knowing how to work it.
Isn't it funny how people still say, "dial" and "type"?

As a new acquaintance, Walter, said to me, "Star Trek communicators are flip phones and phasers are used for lasiks surgery." I answered, "Yep, and when Maxwell Smart talked on his shoe little did we know we woud ever have even a phone without a cord!"

Here is an interesting question. What are some things we routinely use in 2010 that will be obsolete when elementary school students are 40?

Another Brick in the Wall

2010-01-14T13:30:00.000-06:00

Another Brick in the Wall
by William Sievert on January 14, 2010

[Originally published as "Song that's driving teachers up the wall" in Libertarian Review, Vol. 9, No. 9 (September 1980), pp. 42–43.]

The British Band, Pink Floyd's song, "Another Brick in the Wall" has been banned in South Africa, ignored by some radio stations in the United States and attacked by schoolteachers all over the globe.
Yet the song has become the world's most popular rock record of 1980.

"Another Brick in the Wall," sung as an eerie chant by a children's chorus that backs up the band, is the centerpiece of a gloomy concept album, "The Wall," in which Pink Floyd lyricist Roger Waters charges that Western society uses its schools and other public institutions to build an impenetrable wall of destructive social conditioning around the individual.

While the song is not the first example of the antieducation theme in popular music, it comes at a time when increasing numbers of students are questioning the value of their education. Thus, young people are responding to the song with uncommon — and unsettling — enthusiasm.

In May [1980], the South African government banned the song — and the album — "because "Another Brick" had become the anthem of a national strike of more than 10,000 "coloured" (mixed) students and their white supporters. The students had been protesting the inequality of spending on education for the various races, as well as "intimidation" by teachers, whose authority the Pink Floyd song challenges. The government ban forbids radio stations to play the record, stores to sell it, and individuals to own it.

In the United States, educators in several states have tried — with some success — to have the song removed from the play lists of radio stations. Says Hope Antman of Columbia Records in New York,

The radio resistance has been surprisingly strong. Stations started getting angry calls and letters from teachers and principals and school boards claiming that "Another Brick in the Wall" was creating a crisis in their classrooms.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the record "is still very hot," said KSAN's Pierra Robert, a programming assistant, who said it was being played on "everything from rock stations to disco stations."

"We Don't Need No Education" graffiti has appeared on tunnel walls in the Sunset District of San Francisco, and its refrain has echoed through the lunch hours at private, Jesuit-run schools in the city.
Elsewhere, at least a dozen rock stations in major cities either stopped playing the record or refused to add it to their play lists. The resistance was even stronger in smaller towns, Antman says. One teacher in Chicago went so far as to cut his own record as a rebuttal to Pink Floyd, changing the lyrics to "We all need an education."

The rebuttal was an instant flop, while Pink Floyd's attack on schools has dominated the sales charts for months. According to the entertainment industry's trade paper, Variety, the album was number one in sales for twenty consecutive weeks last winter and spring, and "Another Brick" topped the singles charts for six weeks. Both have remained entrenched in the top five from February to June, although "Another Brick" never made the top five on Variety's list of the most-played records on radio.

Album sales have passed three million worldwide, with the single not far behind. "That's an unprecedented accomplishment for a record that has received so little radio exposure," says Antman.
Teenagers, of course, have always had a distaste for school, and their defiant spirit has frequently been captured in the lyrics of rock 'n' roll songs. In the mid-1970s, Alice Cooper's "School's Out (Forever)" topped the charts; In the 1960s, it was Gary U.S. Bond's "School's Out (At Last)."

Antieducation sentiment in rock dates to the very earliest days of the music, when Chuck Berry frequently contrasted the frustration of the classroom with the satisfaction of fast cars and music.
So why has "Another Brick" produced such an outcry? For one thing, it is far angrier in tone and content than its antischool predecessors.

As Rolling Stone magazine's Kurt Loder put it

in reviewing the record, Roger Waters is contending that in government-run schools, children are methodically tormented and humiliated by teachers whose comeuppance occurs when they go home at night and "their fat and psychopathic wives would thrash them within inches of their lives."

This is very strong stuff, and hardly the hallmark of a hit album.
Teachers found such vehemence especially troubling. "Many educators, particularly in the urban areas, were not only angered by the song's attack on their profession, but were afraid it would lead to a wave of student protests this past spring," says an official of the National Education Association, who asked that his name not be used.

Teachers were worried because their students were singing it in the corridors and quoting it in the classroom, and they felt a need to make some kind of response. The song has not led to any significant protests — at least in this country — because the current generation of high schoolers doesn't much believe in protesting. From the statistics we're seeing, they're more likely to drop out than to demand reforms when they feel they have been wronged in school.

According to Education Department figures, about one million teenagers of high-school age have quit school, leaving the average graduating class this spring with 25 percent fewer members than it had at the outset.

Interviews with numerous high-school students indicate that the Pink Floyd song has struck a chord of anger and frustration with which many students strongly identify.
Says Mark Jenkins of Alexandria, Virginia, "Pink Floyd is talking to me in that song."

William Sievert is a former editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education Arts magazine.
See William Sievert's article archives.

Ants Can Count?

2009-11-25T16:33:00.003-06:00

source: NPR

URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120587095&ps=cprs

Interactive Map Quizzes - ILike2Learn

2009-11-25T16:18:00.000-06:00

United States Map Quiz

United States Capitals Map Quiz

North America Map Quiz

South America Map Quiz

Middle East Map Quiz

Asia Map Quiz

European Map Quiz (easy)

European Map Quiz (hard)

European Capitals Map Quiz

African Map Quiz

More!

Atoms Around Us

2009-11-12T16:22:00.003-06:00

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/atom_intro.html

If you want to have a language, you will need an alphabet. If you want to build proteins, you will need amino acids. Other examples in chemistry are not any different. If you want to build molecules, you will need elements. Each element is a little bit different from the rest. Those elements are the alphabet to the language of molecules.

Why are we talking about elements? This is the section on atoms.

Let's stretch the idea a bit. If you read a book, you will read a language. Letters make up that language. But what makes those letters possible? Ummm... Ink? Yes! You need ink to crate the letters. And for each letter, it is the same type of ink.

Confused? Don't be. Elements are like those letters. They have something in common. That's where atoms come in. All elements are made of atoms. While the atoms may have different weights and organization, they are all built in the same way. Electrons, protons, and neutrons make the universe go.

If you want to do a little more thinking, start with particles of matter. Matter, the stuff around us, is used to create atoms. Atoms are used to create the elements. Elements are used to create molecules. It just goes on. Everything you see is built by using something else.

You could start really small...
- Particles of matter
- Atoms
- Elements
- Molecules
- Macromolecules
- Cell organelles
- Cells
- Tissues
- Organs
- Systems
- Organisms
- Populations
- Ecosystems
- Biospheres
- Planets
- Planetary Systems with Stars
- Galaxies
- The Universe
.And finish really big.

Wow. All of that is possible because of atoms.

What's the Matter?

2009-11-02T16:17:00.000-06:00

Matter is the Stuff Around You

Matter is everything around you. Matter is anything made of atoms and molecules. Matter is anything that has a mass. Matter is also related to light and electromagnetic radiation. Even though matter can be found all over the universe, you usually find it in just a few forms. As of 1995, scientists have identified five states of matter. They may discover one more by the time you get old.

You should know about solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, and a new one called Bose-Einstein condensates. The first four have been around a long time. The scientists who worked with the Bose-Einstein condensate received a Nobel Prize for their work in 1995. But what makes a state of matter? It's about the physical state of molecules and atoms.

Changing States of Matter

Elements and compounds can move from one physical state to another and not change. Oxygen (O₂) as a gas still has the same properties as liquid oxygen. The liquid state is colder and denser but the molecules are still the same. Water is another example. The compound water is made up of two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. It has the same molecular structure whether it is a gas, liquid, or solid. Although its physical state may change, its chemical state remains the same.

So you ask, "What is a chemical state?" If the formula of water were to change, that would be a chemical change. If you added another oxygen atom, you would make hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Its molecules would not be water anymore. Changing states of matter is about changing densities, pressures, temperatures, and other physical properties. The basic chemical structure does not change.

Ancient Civilizations - index by Kings Park Elementary

2009-10-30T01:20:00.000-06:00

Browsing Note: If you click on a link that leaves this site, a new window will automatically open.

Ancient Egyptian Pyramids
and Sphinx

Facts about ancient Egypt
Explore facts about the culture of ancient Egypt.
Standards of Learning for ancient Egypt
Review essential knowledge from standards 2.1 and 2.4.
Egypt Map
Label a map of Egypt using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit.
Egypt Webquest
Research on the internet to design a brochure about ancient or modern Egypt.
Simple Machines Webquest
How were the pyramids of ancient Egypt created? Did they use simple machines? Research these questions using this webquest.
Egyptian Cartouche
Use Kidpix to draw your name using Egyptians hieroglyphics.

The Great Wall of China

Facts about ancient China
Explore facts about the culture of ancient China.
Standards of Learning for ancient China
Review essential knowledge from standards 2.1 and 2.4.
China Map
Label a map of China using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit.
Building the Great Wall (Web and Kidpix Activity)
Research facts about ancient China. Using Kidpix, write and draw the fact on a brick of the Great Wall of China.
Chinese New Year Scavenger Hunt
Learn about the Chinese New Year by completing an internet scavenger hunt.

Greek Parthenon

Facts about ancient Greece
Explore facts about the culture of ancient Greece.
Standards of Learning for ancient Greece
Review essential knowledge from standards 3.1, 3.4, and 3.8.
Greek Map
Label a map of Greece using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit.
Windows Back in Time
Using web resources, traveling back in time. Create a picture of daily life in ancient Greece.
Gods and Goddesses Trading Cards
Collect information about the Greek gods and goddesses on a data retrieval chart. Create trading cards using Appleworks Database.
Greek Myths
use the Internet to do research on ancient Greek Olympians. Write a myth which includes yourself as a god or goddess and at least one of the Greek Olympians. Using a digital picture of yourself and Kidpix, draw a picture to go with the myth.

Roman Colosseum

Facts about ancient Rome
Explore facts about the culture of ancient Rome.
Standards of Learning for ancient Rome
Review essential knowledge from standards 3.1, 3.4, and 3.8.
Rome Map
Label a map of Rome using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit.
Windows Back in Time
Using web resources, traveling back in time. Create a picture of daily life in ancient Rome.
Gods and Goddesses Trading Cards
Collect information about the Roman gods and goddesses on a data retrieval chart. Create trading cards using Appleworks Database.

Mosque from ancient Mali

Facts about ancient Mali
Explore facts about the culture of ancient Mali. To return to this page hit the back button.
Standards of Learning for ancient Mali
Review essential knowledge from standards 3.2, 3.4, and 3.8.
Mali Map
Label a map of Mali using Kidpix and Mapmaker's Toolkit.

Ancient Egypt - Map and Facts

2009-10-30T01:18:00.001-06:00


Geography Where is Egypt located? How did the ancient Egyptians adapt to their environment?	Egypt is located on the continent of Africa. The climate in ancient Egypt is very hot and dry. The ancient Egyptians farmed and irrigated the land near the Nile River. The Nile River flows north into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River was used by the ancient Egyptians for many things. They fished for food, washed themselves and their clothes, and collected water for irrigation, drinking and cooking. They also traveled by boat around Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea to trade with other cultures. The land in Egypt is about 90 percent desert. There are grasses along the Nile River. The Nile River floods every year. This flooding brings in rich soil for planting. back to top
Government Who ruled in ancient Egypt?	The ancient Egyptians were ruled by Pharaohs. Pharaohs. were the highest level in ancient Egyptian society. When a pharaoh died, he would be buried in a tomb or pyramid with all of his valuables. It was believed that they would need these things in the after-life. Cats were considered regal and good luck. back to top
Economics What did the ancient Egyptian people use to buy and sell goods and services?	The ancient Egyptians traded with other cultures like ancient Rome and Greece. back to top
Contributions A contribution is the act of giving or doing something. Many of the ancient Egyptians inventions are used today.	The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics as their written language. Hieroglyphics is writing using pictures to represent different sounds. The Egyptians created the clock and the 365-day calendar we use today. One of the most remarkable architectural structures from ancient Egypt are the Pyramids. back to top

Ancient China - Map and Facts

2009-10-30T01:17:00.002-06:00


Geography Where is China located? How did the ancient Chinese adapt to their environment?	China is located on the continent of Asia. The climate in ancient China includes seasons similar to those in North America. The ancient Chinese fished, farmed, and irrigated the land. There is a variety of plant life in China. The land in ancient China consists of forests, hills, mountains, and deserts. back to top
Government Who ruled in ancient China?	Chinese rulers, called emperors, based their government on the Confucian model, which taught that the best ruler was a virtuous man who led by example. Legalists stressed strength, not goodness, as a ruler's greatest virtue, while Daoists, who rejected the everyday world, believed that the best government was the one that governed least. back to top
Economics What did the ancient Chinese people use to buy and sell goods and services?	The ancient Chinese traded goods with other cultures. In addition, they used metal coins in community bartering. The ancient Chinese fished, farmed, and irrigated the land. Silk was traded for other goods or services as they traveled the "Silk Route." back to top
Contributions A contribution is the act of giving or doing something. Many of the ancient Chinese inventions are used today.	The ancient Chinese used characters and symbols as their written language. They invented many things which we still use today. Some of their inventions were: kites, silk cloth, fireworks, compass, and bronze. The Great Wall of China was built by Shi Huangdi. He united China and built a strong, centralized, authoritarian government. His most remarkable achievement was building the Great Wall . back to top

The Tower of Babel

2009-10-29T13:03:00.001-06:00

Genesis 11:1-9

The people of Babel said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (NIV).

The descendants of Noah all spoke a single language. As they increased in number and began to spread eastward, they found a fertile area called Shinar and settled there. They decided to build a city with a tower that "reached to the heavens." They wanted the tower to be a proud monument to themselves and a symbol that would keep them united as a powerful people.
"So that we can make a "Shem" for ourselves."

However, God was not so pleased. He came down and looked at the city and tower and said,

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. (NIV, Genesis 11:6-7)

So God made the people speak many different languages so they could not work together on building the city and tower. The He scattered the people around the world and the city was abandoned. The city was called "Babel" because God confused their languages.

Questions

Where was the Tower of Babel? Bible scholars think the Tower of Babel refers to a ziggurat, the ancient pagan temple tower of the Babylonians. Babylon was located on the Euphrates River about 30 miles (49 km) from the modern city of Baghdad in Iraq. The Babylonians bragged that their tower reached up to the heavens.
What does Babel mean? Babel was the Hebrew name for Babylon which means "gate of god." But It was similar to the Hebrew word balal which meant to confound or confuse. The Hebrews despised the Babylonians, and there may well be a humorous play on words here: Far from being the "gate of god," Babylon was actually the site of much confusion!

Lessons

On the surface, the story of the Tower of Babel offers an explanation for the many different languages spoken on earth. But there is much more to the story.
In ancient times, people thought the heavens were not far above the earth. If only they could build a tower to the sky, they could climb up and be like gods themselves. Mankind had once again lost sight of God and become arrogant and self-sufficient.
God, of course, saw this a pure arrogance. He put an end to the people's delusions of being powerful and important like gods.
We may be tempted to think we no longer need to trust and obey God. We may believe our learning, sophistication and technology are all we need to be self-sufficient and guarantee our security. The lesson of the Tower of Babel is that such self-sufficiency is a delusion. History has shown that many nations and their leaders have fallen into the trap of arrogance and self sufficiency. Like Babel, those nations have eventually ended up in ruins.

source: http://www.twopaths.com/story_TowerOfBabel.htm
http://www.twopaths.com/index.htm (not Catholic but somewhat accepting of Catholic doctrine)

Jello Animal Cell

2009-10-22T20:48:00.002-06:00

Animal Cell Anatomy

The cell is the basic unit of life. All organisms are made up of cells (or in some cases, a single cell). Most cells are very small; most are invisible without using a microscope. Cells are covered by a cell membrane and come in many different shapes. The contents of a cell are called the protoplasm.

The following is a glossary of animal cell terms: cell membrane - the thin layer of protein and fat that surrounds the cell. The cell membrane is semipermeable, allowing some substances to pass into the cell and blocking others.
centrosome - (also called the "microtubule organizing center") a small body located near the nucleus - it has a dense center and radiating tubules. The centrosomes is where microtubules are made. During cell division (mitosis), the centrosome divides and the two parts move to opposite sides of the dividing cell. The centriole is the dense center of the centrosome.
cytoplasm - the jellylike material outside the cell nucleus in which the organelles are located.
Golgi body - (also called the Golgi apparatus or golgi complex) a flattened, layered, sac-like organelle that looks like a stack of pancakes and is located near the nucleus. It produces the membranes that surround the lysosomes. The Golgi body packages proteins and carbohydrates into membrane-bound vesicles for "export" from the cell.
lysosome - (also called cell vesicles) round organelles surrounded by a membrane and containing digestive enzymes. This is where the digestion of cell nutrients takes place.
mitochondrion - spherical to rod-shaped organelles with a double membrane. The inner membrane is infolded many times, forming a series of projections (called cristae). The mitochondrion converts the energy stored in glucose into ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for the cell.
nuclear membrane - the membrane that surrounds the nucleus.
nucleolus - an organelle within the nucleus - it is where ribosomal RNA is produced. Some cells have more than one nucleolus.
nucleus - spherical body containing many organelles, including the nucleolus. The nucleus controls many of the functions of the cell (by controlling protein synthesis) and contains DNA (in chromosomes). The nucleus is surrounded by the nuclear membrane.
ribosome - small organelles composed of RNA-rich cytoplasmic granules that are sites of protein synthesis.
rough endoplasmic reticulum - (rough ER) a vast system of interconnected, membranous, infolded and convoluted sacks that are located in the cell's cytoplasm (the ER is continuous with the outer nuclear membrane). Rough ER is covered with ribosomes that give it a rough appearance. Rough ER transports materials through the cell and produces proteins in sacks called cisternae (which are sent to the Golgi body, or inserted into the cell membrane).
smooth endoplasmic reticulum - (smooth ER) a vast system of interconnected, membranous, infolded and convoluted tubes that are located in the cell's cytoplasm (the ER is continuous with the outer nuclear membrane). The space within the ER is called the ER lumen. Smooth ER transports materials through the cell. It contains enzymes and produces and digests lipids (fats) and membrane proteins; smooth ER buds off from rough ER, moving the newly-made proteins and lipids to the Golgi body, lysosomes, and membranes.
vacuole - fluid-filled, membrane-surrounded cavities inside a cell. The vacuole fills with food being digested and waste material that is on its way out of the cell.

Source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/cell/

More good stuff!
Plant Cell PrintoutBacterium Cell Printout
Animal Cell
Label Me! Printout

Whales

2009-10-20T14:27:00.000-06:00

In Herman Melville's classic novel, a Sperm whale called Moby Dick is portrayed as an evil monster which sinks ships and kills sailors. This is the reputation these whales have gotten throughout the years, perhaps because of their large size and huge teeth.

We now know that Sperm whales are not dangerous to people. They do not break ships apart and swallow sailors whole. In fact, we know a lot about what Sperm whales don't do--but not very much else.

Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales on the planet, and perhaps the most abundant of the great whales, but we rarely get to study them because they spend so much time underwater. Sperm whales are deep divers, holding their breath and diving thousands of feet down to feed on deep sea squid and fish. They spend 90% of their lives down deep where they can't be seen. Only rarely do these energetic animals take a break and rest at the surface.

Seeing a Sperm whale on the water can be tough because the spout is not very high.

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Blue whale - A blue whale spouts at sunset. The blow, or spout, of a blue whale goes straight up and can reach 30 feet into the air. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on earth. Blue whale blows, emitted from a blue whale's twin blowholes as it breathes at the ocean's surface, can reach 30' into the air and can be seen and heard for miles.

It is also the loudest animal on Earth. These enormous mammals eat tiny organisms, like plankton and krill, which they sieve through baleen. They live in pods (small groups). These gray-blue whales have 2 blowholes and a 2-14 inch (5-30 cm) thick layer of blubber.

Blue whales are rorqual whales, whales that have pleated throat grooves that allow their throat to expand during the huge intake of water during filter feeding. Blue whales have 50-70 throat grooves that run from the throat to mid-body. Here is a picture os a blue whale.

Here is a picture comparing the Blue Whale to other animals.

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Right whales are so named because they were considered the “right” whale to hunt. Weighing in at over 60 tons, they yielded a great deal of oil for commercial whalers. Additionally, their relatively slow speed, their tendency to feed at the surface, combined with the fact that they float after being killed, made them a prized target for the whalers leaving the ports in Provincetown, New Bedford, and Nantucket, among others. Here is a picture of a Right Whale.

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Whalers can tell different whales by their spouts.

A sperm spout leans back a bit.

A blue spout is straight up and tall.

A right spout splits into two.

Links for more info:

the Sperm whale (a Toothed Whale)
the Beluga whale (a Toothed Whale)
the Blue whale (a Rorqual Whale)
the Right Whale (a Baleen Whale)

Change Your Password

2009-10-09T21:30:00.000-06:00

Scam hits more e-mail accounts

from BBC news
By Jonathan Fildes
Technology reporter

More than 20,000 e-mail addresses have been seen by the BBC.

The scale of a phishing attack originally thought to be directed at Hotmail may be larger than previously thought.

BBC News has seen a list of more than 20,000 more names and passwords that have been posted online.

The list contains e-mail addresses and passwords from Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Gmail and other service providers.

The list was published on the same website as the original list of 10,000 Hotmail login details.

Some of the accounts appear to be old, unused or fake. However, BBC News has confirmed that many - including Gmail and Hotmail addresses - are genuine.

Other addresses include Comcast and Earthlink accounts.

It is not clear whether the list was part of the same phishing attack that collected the Hotmail addresses or a separate scam.

Phishing involves using fake websites to lure people into revealing details such as bank account details or login names.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said phishing was an "industry-wide problem".

"Our guidance to customers is to exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments and links from both known and unknown sources, and that they install and regularly update their anti-virus software."

Password change

Technology blog neowin.net was the first to publish details of the original attack. It said the accounts were posted on 1 October to pastebin.com, a website commonly used by developers to share code.

The Pastebin website is currently down for maintenance.

Its owner, Paul Dixon, posted a note on the site in the wake of neowin's revelations saying that it had received "an unprecedented amount of traffic".

"Pastebin.com is just a fun side project for me, and today it's not fun. It will remain offline all day while I make some further modifications," he said.

Security expert Graham Cluley of Sophos advised users to change their passwords as soon as possible.

"I'd also recommend that people change the password on any other site where they use it," he said.

About 40% of people use the same password for every website they use, he added.

Obama's Plan Taxes the Sick

2009-10-09T07:34:00.000-06:00

Faced with a need to scrounge for revenue to fund his plan for health care, President Barack Obama and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus have come up with a brilliant new idea: Tax the sick!

In a new amendment to the health care bill, they propose to limit the deductibility of medical expenses on income taxes.
Now, taxpayers may deduct any medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of their Adjusted Gross Income.

Obama and Baucus want to raise that threshold to 10% as long as the taxpayer is under 65.
Eight million Americans are sick enough and poor enough that they have to pay more than 7.5% of their income in medical expenses. And it is these folks that the liberals Obama and Baucus plan to tax! Six million of them earn less than $75,000 a year!
For a family earning $75,000 a year and facing out-of-pocket medical bills of $7, 500, this proposal would cost them about $600 a year in extra taxes.

And let’s remember who it is that they are taxing. This proposal affects people whose incomes are so limited and whose medical costs are so high that they exceed 7.5% of their pre-tax income.
Their proposal literally hopes to raise $20 billion over ten years by taxing sick people.

The Democrats defend their proposal by saying that it would discourage health care spending. But nobody deliberately spends 7.5% of their income on medical costs unless they are pretty sick and needy.

Obama and Baucus have singled out the sickest among the middle class for this heinous tax. (The poor will not have to pay it because they are eligible for Medicaid). Originally, the Democrats continued their war on the elderly by proposing to tax everyone who spends more than the 7.5% threshold on medical costs. But they retreated when it became clear that six million elderly would be hit with the tax. Now they just sock it to eight million sic k, middle income Americans.

This tax, and their desire to cut Medicare and Medicaid by $500 billion, makes Obama and Baucus unlike any Democrats I have ever known. Democrats, at least when I worked for Clinton, defended the elderly and the sick rather than cut the former and tax the latter.

by Dick Morris

Michelle Obama on Sesame Street

2009-10-02T23:52:00.001-06:00

All in Good Fun . . . . Lefties, Don't Be Mad!

2009-09-30T15:02:00.000-06:00

The Greatest Commandment of All

2009-08-25T09:47:00.002-06:00

FROM TEXAS TO CENTRAL PARK

2009-05-28T22:09:00.000-06:00

No. 2497
FROM TEXAS TO CENTRAL PARK

by Richard Armstrong

Click here for audio of Episode 2497

Today, we go from the Texas frontier to Central Park. The Honors College at the University of Houston presents this program about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
Frederick Law Olmsted was the founder of American landscape architecture. He left a lasting legacy in New York’s Central Park, the Midway Plaisance in Chicago, the campuses of Yale and Stanford, the grounds of the Biltmore Estate, and many other gorgeous green havens across North America. At a critical time in our nation’s growth, Olmsted knew how to make a space for nature amid the reckless urban development of American life.
But before he began designing parks, Olmsted had another career as a traveling journalist. In 1852, the editor The New York Daily Times hired him to write on rural life in the Southern United States. The national debate on slavery was at a fever pitch, and the editor wanted to publish an unbiased view based on direct observations. Olmsted had worked at “scientific farming” on Staten Island, and was well versed in agrarian economics. He had also just published a book about his travels in rural England, which had won him modest fame for his “natural and unprejudiced” observations. So Olmsted set out on a journey that would take him from the Southern seaboard to the farthest settlements of West Texas. The three books he later published about this journey make fascinating reading to this day.

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903).
Oil painting by John Singer Sargent (1895) Olmsted’s volume on Texas is a frank look at the multicultural ferment of the Southwestern frontier. His notes on the plantations form an argument against slavery that goes well beyond the obvious moral objections. Slave labor is quite simply an inefficient economic system, one built on the backs of highly unmotivated workers. These workers are kept in a permanent state of ignorance and must have their every need met by their owners. Slavery degrades both slave and master; it must constantly be reinforced by threats and by real violence.
The porous border with Mexico posed another problem in this labor system—though it’s the opposite of the one so politicized today. Slavery had been abolished in Mexico, so slaves in Texas ran off quite frequently and headed for the border. Texans of Mexican origin would readily aid the runaways; this led to further tensions with the encroaching Anglo-American plantation owners.
In Olmsted’s analysis, the high cost of slave labor kept valuable capital from being spent on public improvements; also, plantation owners weren’t paying wages that could circulate and further stimulate the local economy. So slavery was bad business; its costs far outweighed its profits. Why were people still so intent on retaining it? Olmsted suggests it’s “the natural lust of authority, common as an element of character in all mankind.” Slavery lets you play lord and master, even against your own economic interest. It also spares you the headache of having to negotiate with free laborers.
Back in New York, Olmsted found he’d won the design competition for Central Park. There he would realize his ideal of a common green space equally accessible to all citizens. For southern slaves, the road to freedom was no walk in the park; but America’s greatest park designer was their champion.

Nancy Drew's Guide To Life

2009-01-29T11:22:00.009-06:00

Written by Jennifer Worick, this little gem of a book is chock-full of life's lessons, Nancy Drew-style. Filled with bits of advice oozing of old-fashioned-ness. For example:

Chapter 1~Survival Strategies

If the ceiling collapses, breathe through a handkerchief to avoid inhaling dust. ~The Hidden Staircase

Moxie and a good sense of balance are essential when crawling on a roof. ~The Hidden Staircase

When your ride is mired in mud, placing heavy burlap in front of the rear wheels and rocking the car back and forth can get you back on the road. ~The Secret of Red Gate Farm

A Joan Walsh Anglund Poem

2009-01-27T10:45:00.006-06:00

A bird does not sing because it has an answer

It sings because it has a song.

graphics source: A Brush With Color

A Friend Gift to Pass On!

2009-01-26T12:00:00.000-06:00

Originally posted over at Catholic Notebook on Friday, January 23, 2009

I never expected to find a community when I started blogging. But - finding a strong, faithful, helpful, friendly Catholic community is one of my favorite parts of blogging now! I thank you, Cathy, for this and I am tickled to pass it on.

The gift comes with these kind words:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

I am honored and excited to pass this on to:
Are We There Yet?
La Dolce Vita
Radical Catholic Mom
Happy Hearts at Home
Beautiful Chaos
Keeper of the Keys
Patch 'O Dirt Farm
Holy Cards for Your Inspiration
A Catholic Journey

comments:

Lisa said...: Oh, Peggy, thank-you! But, mostly, congratulations to you on this award! You are especially deserving!
Bia said...: Peggy, you are so sweet. Grazie mille!Bia
Nadja Magdalena said...: Thank you, Peggy, I'm so glad you enjoy my blog. I feel the same way about the women I've "met" through the blogosphere...
Micki said...: You are such a sweetheart. I accept from my heart but I can't play it forwarad because I want to keep the blog just holy cards. I hope you understand. Therefore, I will offer up some prayers for you and your distinguished winners of this "award". Hugs to all.
Shelly said...: oh you are so sweet!! thank you muchly ;)
Alexandra said...: Thanks so much!
Radical Catholic Mom said...: Aaahhh. Thanks so much. I've been gone for about 2 days running around, so it was sweet to come here and read this when I finally had the chance!Very sweet!
Lerin said...: Thank you! I appreciate the nod! :)
Abbey said...: I am so happy that I found your blog. You are a daily inspiration to me and this convert learns something from you every day.Blessings,AbbeyP.S. Please visit me - you've been tagged!

Links to this post

Catholic Fire: Nancy Pelosi's Latest Lie: "IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU SHOULD BE, YOU WILL SET THE WHOLE WORLD ON FIRE." "LET THE TRUTH BE YOUR DELIGHT.... PROCLAIM IT..., BUT WITH A CERTAIN CONGENIALITY." ~ St. Catherine of Siena ...; Posted by Jean M. Heimann at January 26, 2009 3:19 AM
Aussie Coffee Shop: 18 years ago.: home schooler's. A Catholic Mom in Hawaii · The Battle for Life. 40 minutes ago. Ora et Labora · Time Keeps On Ticking Ticking Ticking . . . 1 hour ago. The Land of Cheerios, Sticky Fingers and Muddy Shoes · Baby Milestones. 2 hours ago ...; Posted by Aussie Therese at January 25, 2009 7:33 PM
Muellerstuff: A History of the Rest of my Declining Years: 3rd ...: This is a small experiment in the blogosphere. "If you have no interest in what it's like to grow old, what follows is not for you. However, if it's going to happen to you, and the outcome is ultimately going to be negative, ...; Posted by Ken & Carol at January 25, 2009 5:25 PM
A Catholic Journey: Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

Self Publishing

2009-01-22T08:46:00.002-06:00

For those of you who haven’t yet read the comments on the Periodical and ISSN blogs, Valya is thinking of starting a journal, and she’s wondering if Wordclay, a free print-on-demand publisher, is the right choice.

Who can blame her? The idea of a print-on-demand periodical is a relatively new concept, even though I’m not sure exactly why. To me at least, it just makes sense to order as many copies of a journal as you need, so you aren’t out hundreds of dollars on unused copies that end up collecting dust in your cramped office.

Still, Valya has questions, and I aim to answer them.

Valya: “You say, ‘You can always pay a small price for the Stock Cover Art and submit artwork with directions for our professional designers.’ What if I want to design my own cover with my own photography? Is there an acceptable format that I can send to you to have printed?

Justin: You can design the complete cover if you are capable of doing so. You can also contract your own designer to lay it out for you. The exact specs for each of our formats are in the FAQs toolbox. The best formats to use when sending the cover would be a layered .psd file or .tiff file, and if possible a PDF of the full cover as well.

But unless you’re an experienced designer, I don’t recommend laying the cover out yourself. The whole concept behind Wordclay is DIY publishing through being affordable.

Not only will you devote tons of time to laying out a cover, or perhaps tons of money hiring a designer (and you’ll still have to pay Wordclay a custom quoted fee to use the cover you provide anyway), but often times the smallest formatting error can throw the whole design off for the printers.

For example, you may miss a trim line or you may not leave enough room for the imprint or barcode – what then? Your cover looks only half as good as it could have – that’s what.

This is a copy of a post from: writing, self publishing and book marketing

Cheers!

2008-12-31T00:03:00.000-06:00

Is this akin to, "If you don't know how many calories are in it then it counts as zero calories??

Book (with sub titles) & in English

2008-12-08T14:59:00.000-06:00

Watch the Norwegian version (above) first!

B O O K

2008-12-02T05:15:00.000-06:00

Young Girl Reading (1894) - Mary Cassat

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade named BOOK. Book is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere-even sitting in an armchair by the fire-yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a memory stick.

Here's how it works: Book is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding hundreds of thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, Books with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

Book may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it. Book never crashes or requires rebooting, though like other display devices, it can become unusable if exposed to high ambient temperatures. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

Book can be stored for an almost unlimited amount of time without connecting any outside power source. Many Book units may be stored together as they cause no interference with one another, even when placed in close proximity. An optional "Bookmark" accessory allows you to open Book to the exact place you left it in a previous session-even if the Book has been closed.

Bookmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single Bookmark can be used in Books by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous Book markers can be used in a single Book if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the Book. You can also make personal notes next to Book text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS). Portable, durable, and affordable, Book is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, Book's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.
H/T: Athos @ Chronicles of Atlantis

A-Z Retail Tricks To Make You Shop

2008-10-15T13:50:00.001-06:00

A-Z Retail Tricks To Make You Shop

source: http://www.spacehijackers.org/html/ideas/archipsy/tricks.html

"If we went into shops only when we needed to buy something, and if once in there we bought only what we needed, the economy would collapse, boom." Paco Underhill, CEO Envirosell

Ever wandered into a shop looking to buy a few things on your list, only to find yourself coming out with twice as much? You may not be aware, but the reason for this is not sheer chance, or that you were just feeling frivolous. The retail industry spends hard time and money into creating all sorts of devious little means to make you shop that bit extra. Every penny you spend in their shop is not being spent at their rivals, and in the high stakes of today’s competitive market, every penny counts.

Below is an A-Z of retail tricks that we have compiled to empower you before you go out shopping, so that you can buy what you need and collapse our economy! More will be added as we root them out.

Aisle Order – Some customers, particularly men, tend to simply shop for what they want, walking down an aisle grabbing what they want, turning back and walking the way they came, this is called the 'Boomerang Effect'. In order to maximise shopper and produce contact time, shops therefore place major items and brands in the middle of aisles ensuring that from any direction the customer has to walk the furthest to reach them.

Baby Powder – Some UK baby shops now add Baby Powder to the air conditioning to remind people of new-born’s and relax them.

Baskets – Shops will actively hand out baskets and trolleys to customers, as people then feel embarrassed taking a basket with one item to the counter, and it increases the chances of multiple purchases. You will often find baskets to the right just after the Transition Zone.

Canned Smell – Most Supermarkets bake their bread early in the morning, however to entice more custom some have resorted to pumping out the smell of fresh baking bread to add to the illusion that it is constantly baked through the day. Go into Niketown on Oxford Street and smell the deodorant like pong they pump into the air!

Curved Aisle Ends – A lot of supermarkets noe curve the ends of their aisles, this is to ensure your eye never strays from the goods on display..

Displays – Displays are now regularly put at the end of aisles so that your eyes need never be taken from the merchandise. These are places where retailers will promote certain items as the customer walking down an aisle will approach an end display head on as opposed to at right angles as with the rest of the aisle.

Escalators – Multi-level Department stores often use their escalators to encourage you to see more of the store. Travelling either up or down the store you will find you have to walk half way around the level in order to find your next connecting escalator, as opposed to it being the one next to you. This has not happened by accident.

Flooring – Types of flooring are often used to direct customers as a retailer wants around the store. Department stores make great use of the difference between carpet and linoleum to subtly steer customers around and hold them in certain places. Occasionally you will find random rugs and mats laid out in aisles of supermarkets to slow traffic.

Go To The Back –Supermarkets hit upon the idea of placing the essentials, such as bread and milk, at the back of the shop. This is in order to make people have to walk past the rest of the produce, and heighten the possibility of impulse buys, in order to get their necessities. Changing rooms in clothes shops are almost always situated at the rear of the shop.

Hopscotch – One American supermarket chain hit upon the idea of drawing a hopscotch in the aisle next to the children’s cereal in order to make the children play and thus pin Mum & Dad to a point where the children could hassle them for treats.

Irrational Pricing - Irrational pricing is putting the price of items at say 4.99 instead of 5. Obvious as it may seem, apparently "The reason offered for not instead rounding $4.99 to $5.00 is based on memory processing time. Rounding upward involves an additional decision compared with storing the first digits. Furthermore, due to the vast quantity of information available for consumers to process, the information on price must be stored in a very short interval. The cheapest way to do so, in memory and attention terms, is by storing the first digits." Therefore customers perceive to be getting a better deal than they infact are.

Jumble Sale –Retailers use the effect of a Jumble Sale on some displays, messing them up slightly to make them look as if other customers have been rooting through them. Shoppers are instinctivly hesitant to mess up pristine displays.

Kitchen Fans – Several Fast Food restaurants have been known to re-direct the extractor fans from their kitchens (at the back) to the street at the front of the building. Thereby filling the surrounding area with the smell of fast food and enticing more custom.

Line Of Sight – Advertisers make great use of line of sight, by working out, or subliminally pushing, a customer to a particular position. The customer will then find promotional material or displays directly between them and where they wish to go, the stairs, exit, cashier etc.

Mirrors – Mirrors slow people down. Due to humans vain nature mirrors are regularly used on the front of shops in shopping centres and high streets to slow down the traffic and make people spend time in front of the shop. This is particularly true if they are next to Banks which speed people up.

Not Closing Down – There is a shop on Oxford Street in London which has been having a closing down sale for the last 6 years! Advertising last minute discounts to be made, the retailers rely upon people's instincts to catch those bargins before the shop closes. Using our fear of missing out on a deal, they add a sense of urgency to what is in effect a selling off of cheap stock.

Order Of Price- Shops will often be laid out in order of price with the most expensive items being encountered at the beginning of your visit and the cheapest at the end. This is done to play on our sense of comparion, we are much more likely to spend money on accessories etc if we have just agreed to buy an expensive item, as in comparison they will seem cheaper than had we encountered them first.

Point Of Sale - Whilst you are waiting to pay retailers often install Point Of Sale displays, this is especially prevalent in Supermarkets who install racks of chocolate to tempt bored children waiting with their parents.

Power Display – Right inside the door at Gap & Old Navy, you will find a ‘power display’, a huge horizontal bank of clothes, designed to act as a barrier to slow shoppers down. Functioning as a speed bump this is to shorten the length of the Transition Zone and make people start shopping earlier.

Purple - Apparently the colour Light Purple is most likely to make customers feel lilke spending money!

Queues – Queues are a great place for retailers to add impulse buys to your basket. Point Of Sale displays, magazine racks, chocolate and other low cost items are often put here within easy reach of bored customers to pick up. This is also a great place for advertisers to ply you with information on their products as you are a captive bored market. This is used to effect anywhere a queue may form for example by the tills, changing rooms or toilets.

Returns Spiking – Blockbuster realise that when movies are popular and not on the shelves some customers will go to the returns rack (from which the employees stack the shelves) in order to pick up new films before they hit the shop floor. In order to boost sales of older films, the company decided to spike the returns rack with films that had not been hired in order to make them seem more popular.

Right – Upon walking through the Transition Zone most customers will veer to the right (US research). Some think it is because the majority of people are right handed. You will therefore find a prominent display just to the right after the Transition Zone. - As most people are right handed, you will also find that merchandise a store is trying to promote will be positioned just to the right of major items to that it is within easy and natural reach.

Repetition - Working us like Pavlov's Dogs, the cunning marketing man will use repetition to engrain ideas into our heads, or associations between products and arousal, i.e the constant use of beautiful women in car advertising. see here. Plus the use of repetetive slogans on the front doors, in aisles and then by the check out use this effect to drum ideas into our otherwise engaged brains.

Seats – Whilst installed to aid the shopper, benches also enable people to spend more time shopping in a store, 100% of benches will be facing the merchandise. Even within shopping centres you will find benches face shops and not the outside world, customers must remain focussed on the shopping experience.

Shuffle – Many shops have a poilicy of regularly rotating the stock, this happens especially in supermarkets where people regularly shop for the same items. The idea obviously is to confront customers with a varitey of items aside from their regulars and encourage them to explore areas of the shop they may not usually visit.

Tiles – Supermarkets used to have a trick placing slightly smaller tileson the floor in the more expensive aisles of the shop. When a customer entered on of these aisles their trolley would click faster making them think they were travelling faster and thereby subconsciously slow down and spend more time in that aisle.

Time – The longer customers spend in a shop the more they are likely to spend. Therefore shops work to make sure customers have to spend the maximum amount of time in their stores, placing obstacles constantly in the way of efficient shopping.

Upstairs – Shops will encourage you to enter the stores, and offer escalators up to the floors at the front, however in order to leave you will often find that the only route down is via stairs at the back of the store. This is to maximise shopping time. In clothing shops, men are generally sent upstairs, and then have to find their way back through the women’s floor to get to the front door, usually being placed downstairs in the lingerie dept, the one place men will impulse buy for their partners.

Visual Prompting – Using the lines between laminate flooring, or carpet patterns shops often try to guide you around as they wish. WH Smiths on Oxford Street in London has a giant arrow cut into the carpet with laminate floor guiding you straight to the centre of the store. Niketown also uses this idea with lines across the floor silently ushering people.

Windows – Department stores and Shopping Centres will not have many windows. Instead they rely upon artificial light and air conditioning. This is to remove the shopper from contact with the outside world and constraints of time (seeing it go dark outside).

Xylophone – Instore music is set at a tempo to relax customers and slow their sense of time. Often music is wordless in order to avoid making customers think, instead just setting the tempo of shopping.

Yes – Would you like fries with that? If an employee asks if a customer would like to upgrade 47% will say yes. Staff will often be told to keep up-selling until the customer says no.

Zone Of Transition – The area just through the doors of a shop, which it takes a customer to acclimatise to the shop surroundings and truly enter the shop. Merchandise, baskets and promotions in the area are lost on the customer, who has not fully transferred from outside yet.

Useful Resources & Bibliography

Well the first thing we did when looking into this whole area of retail trickery was to have a wander around our local High Streets and see what was going on. After spending a while actively looking at the shops rather than the merchandise a lot of little tricks began to spring to mind.

However there is only so much an amateur can spot, it takes the mind of a professional to give us the clues to the mind of the retail trickster:

Check out "Why We Buy" By Paco Underhill for a professional look into optimising retail design and Influence - The Psychology of persuasion By Robert B Cialdini for a look into how humans are persuaded into things by professionals.

also some of these websites:

http://www.placeperformance.com/ Architectural Psychology Services

http://www.bteam.com/arch_psych.htm Behavioural Team for Architectural Psychology

http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/miracles.htm Retail Business Miracles: Science and Psychology

http://www.queendom.com/mindgames/quizdom/quiz115.html Retail Psychology Quiz

http://marketing-bulletin.massey.ac.nz/article8/research1b.asp Odd Pricing

http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/ Consumer Psychology

Four!

2008-10-10T11:16:00.005-06:00

A) Four places that I go to over and over: Church, School, Gas Station, Grocery Store

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Mary Lee, Amy, Colleen, Real Estate Agents

C) Four favorite places to eat: My house, Bucca, Olive Garden, Viggiano's (best restaurant in the N.E.)

D) Four places I would rather be right now: PA & NY visiting friends, Italy, @ home, Virgin Islands

E) Four TV shows I watch over and over: HG-TV House Hunter, Everybody Loves Raymond (on DVD)

F) Four things I say over and over:

Line up in your squads!

You can do it!

It was like my nightmare . . . . . . . . . . house after house after house after house . . . . .

I miss Lucky and Bootsie (I say this to myself - I do not want to upset my son)

I found this at Mum2Twelve! A great blog.

Personal Update

2008-08-23T01:01:00.003-06:00

Hi guys,
First of all, TU to RCM for her prayers and request for prayers. News got to her very quickly through some fellow bloggers from Vox Nova, I think.

My husband had a serious heart attack on Tuesday (that sounds so silly -- like it implies some heart attacks aren't serious??)
We have been blessed with amazing friends and many prayers - but as you know, more prayers are always good. If you feel inclined to say a prayer for him I would be ever so grateful. He is home as of today and resting beautifully. He is doing way better than a few days ago!

Monday we are also supposed to hear back from mitigators we have hired to handle a mistake our mortgage company made. The mistake on American Home Mortgage's (formally Option One) part may well cost us our home (and the equity, albeit small, our hard earned equity, none the less). This was supposed to happen today but we learned that they have not reached an agreement yet.

I thank and praise God for sparing my husband's life here on earth. Having more time together is a truly precious gift. That is the most important and wonderful thing. But I admit, I am fretting a bit about this mortgage situation. I am SURE the stress had much to do with my husband's heart attack. If you want to add a prayer that God help us handle whatever comes our way -- I would greatly appreciate it.

School (I am a teacher @ a Catholic school) started this week -- I suspect with all that is going on I will post lightly for a little while. When I get into the timing of my fall schedule, work out the nuances of cardiac therapy and plans for future procedures, and find out about the house . . . then I hope to post more frequently.

I am praying for my blogging friends and readers -- that's YOU.
God bless you and yours.

In Christ,

Yes, I Teach in Texas

2008-08-15T23:27:00.003-06:00

HARROLD, Texas (AP) -- A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland, Ohio-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

Trustees approved the policy change last year, and it takes effect when classes begin this month. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, must be authorized to carry by the district, must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.

Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change, Thweatt said. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he said.

"The naysayers think [a shooting] won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms at schools unless specific institutions allow them.

It isn't clear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall, because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.

source: CNN

The Blogger's Resume

2008-07-11T01:02:00.000-06:00

I Went to the Woods Because

2008-07-05T11:37:00.002-06:00

Photo of replica of Thoreau's cabin: image by FourPeaks

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life.
And see if I could not learn what it had to teach
and not, when I came to die,
disover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau in Walden

It was on July 4th, 1845 that Henry David Thoreau took up residence in his cabin on Walden Pond. Thoreau spent under $30.00 to build his modest home whose footprint was 10'x15'. With only two knives and forks, one spoon, three plates and a single cup he wasn't planning on doing a lot of entertaining! In his garden he raised beans. Indeed: a simple life...

Take a few moments with this simple poem . . . . Have you found Walden where you are?

Going To Walden

It isn't very far as highways lie.
I might be back by nightfall, having seen
The rough pines, and the stones, and the clear water.
Friends argue that I might be wiser for it.
They do not hear that far-off Yankee whisper:
How dull we grow from hurrying here and there!

Many have gone, and think me half a fool
To miss a day away in the cool country.
Maybe. But in a book I read and cherish,
Going to Walden is not so easy a thing
As a green visit. It is the slow and difficult
Trick of living, and finding it where you are.

-Mary Oliver in the collection, New and Selected Poems: Volume One

Thank you and H/T to A Concord Pastor Comments for this post. He posted it at his blog on July 4th, 2008. I liked it so much I knew I wanted to save it here at Spot Those Turns. Full credit goes to Father Fleming.

See Spot Run!

2008-06-13T03:20:00.004-06:00

(Dick & Jane & their friends)

To many Americans, the simple phrase, "See Spot Run" brings a warm and nostalgic smile.
Ahhh, when life was simpler . . . Back when we only had to dial 4 to 5 digits to reach Grandma & Grandpa. Back when letters did not need zip codes to make it to their destinations. Back when we didn't lock the house in case a neighbor or friend needed something . . . It's fun to look back. I call it touchable history because many of us can personally remember those times. It is one degree of separation from those who were not born yet.

Find it Friday 1

2008-06-13T01:36:00.007-06:00

Fun for a Friday . . . can you find the answer? Actually you may already know the answers!

To the Isrealites encamped at the foot of Mt. Sinai the Lord appeared in the form of
a) a burning bush
b) an earthquake
c) a thick cloud
d) a pillar of fire

You can find the answer in Exodus 19:2, 9, 16; 20:21

Paul noted that Christ died for the
a) righteous
b) good
c) ungodly
d) circumcised

You can find the answer in Romans 5:6
The correct answers are bolded.

13 Of The Best Observation Points For The Northern Lights

2008-06-07T16:24:00.000-06:00

If you've never seen The Northern Lights then you can not possibly understand what you're missing out on. And if you have seen them, you know that you'll probably never see anything quite like them again in your life. These natural light displays are better than any man-made laser light show that you've ever been to see. The colours that come out during their nightly performances (primarily reds and greens) look like nothing that should be in the sky and yet are so stunningly beautiful that you're sure they were meant to be there. Seeing the Northern Lights is a magical experience and one that can be done from several different picturesque parts of the world.

What Are The Northern Lights?

Before we get in to the places where you can go to see the Northern Lights, you might want to know a little bit more about what they are. Called the Aurora Borealis (named after the ancient goddess of dawn and the Greek word for wind), they are a natural wonder that occurs in and near the polar zone as a result of the unique climate conditions in the area.

To the viewer, the Northern Lights are a natural display of coloured lights which illuminate the sky and provide a performance that is memorable if only because it is so different from anything else that the viewer has ever seen. In terms of the science behind them, what you're seeing is a collision of charged particles that come from the magnetosphere of the Earth and crash together to create something akin to natural fireworks in the sky.

Following are some of the best places where you can go to see The Northern Lights for yourself.

Greenland

Greenland: World travellers say that one of the best places to see the Northern Lights during the winter months is Greenland. It's a place with a long history of the aurora borealis since it was the first place where they were seen and then chronicled by a traveller in the Norwegian chronicle Konungs Skuggsj from AD 1230.

Bear Lake, Alaska

Bear Lake: There are three main reasons that people go to Bear Lake, Alaska. One is that they are interested in helping out with the salmon enhancement project that the area is known for. Another is that that they are in the U.S. Air Force and are stationed at Eielson Air Force Base which is located there. And the third is that they want to see the unique colouring of the Northern Lights as viewed over the lake.

Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks: In addition to Bear Lake, there are many more touristy destinations in Alaska where people can (and do) go to see the Northern Lights. Favourite destinations for viewing this phenomenon include Denali National Park and anywhere in Fairbanks.

Iceland

Iceland: There is hardly a place in the world that is more beautiful than Iceland. It's impossible to believe that it can get any prettier unless you happen to be there during the winter when the Northern Lights add another dimension to the appeal of this already unique country.

Murmansk, Russia

Murmansk: Murmansk is an ice-free Russian port located in the Kola Peninsula (near Finland and Norway). It's the largest city in the region and a terrific place to see a stunning display of the Northern Lights. In fact, they're one of the top tourist attractions for people visiting this area.

Yellowknife, Canada

Yellowknife: Although there are numerous places in Canada where you can see the aurora borealis, this is one of the favoured destinations for viewing the lights. It gets crowded as a result of the fact that the town is small and there are a lot of people coming to see the lights, but it's perfect for those who want to camp out and commune with nature.

Norway

Norway: A long time ago, the people of Scandinavia believed that the Northern Lights were caused by large schools of herring jumping into the sky. Today they know differently, of course, but they still appreciate the magic of the light show that appears there. A popular method for travellers here to see the Northern Lights is through a 'night safari' tour.

Finland

Finland: Another theory associated with the Northern Lights comes from an old myth where people once believed that the beautiful display of colours in the sky was caused by a fox running across the clouds there.

Sweden

Sweden: The Northern Lights aren't as common to see in Sweden as in some of the other countries just north of this area. However, Swedish locals and visitors are sometimes treated to distant views of the Northern Lights which combine with the colour of the sky here to create a stunning palette in the clouds.

Estonia

Estonia: One of the few reasons that people travel to Estonia is that they want to see the Northern Lights there. Capitalising on that, the area has emphasized the Northern Lights as a major tourist attraction. A couple of years ago, The New York Times summed up the area by calling Estonia 'a land of Northern Lights, Cybercafes and the Flat Tax'. That's a fairly heady concoction!

Lake Superior, Michigan

Lake Superior: People who are in the continental United States can head to the northernmost part of Michigan to see the Northern Lights over the massive Lake Superior. The Keweenaw Peninsula which juts into the lake is a great place for getting on a boat and waiting to see the aurora borealis make its magic.

Scotland, UK

Scotland: People don't go on holiday to Scotland specifically to see the Northern Lights because they are such a rare occurrence, even at the very far north of the country. They happen about once a month to the thrill of the people who do happen to be in the area at the time and are particularly beautiful when set against the backdrop of the already gorgeous Scottish landscape.

From The Sky

From The Sky: All of these cities and destinations are terrific places to see the Northern Lights. However, the best place to get a really great view is from a plane. It doesn't matter which part of the Northern Skies you're flying over; a glance at the northern lights from a plane window will take your breath away. Better yet are how they look from space!

source: Northern Lights http://www.otbeach.com/news/resorts-and-fun-activities--11/13-of-the-best-observation-points-for-the-northern-lights--502.html

Fun with Online Pup

2008-06-02T11:37:00.004-06:00

I Do Dog Tricks

Try these and more:
sit
lie down
dance
fetch
play dead
jump
beg
etc.

June 2008

2008-06-01T14:19:00.000-06:00

National Dairy Month
National Rivers Month
National Rose Month
National Safety Month
America the Beautiful Week (1st)
National Fishing Week (1st)
National Flag Week (2nd)
Kung-Fu Panda (6)
Flag Day (14)
Father's Day (15)
The Summer Solstice (21)
Midsummer's Eve (23)

Prophecies Quiz

2008-05-19T05:05:00.000-06:00

Which prophet prophesied the following prophecies:

1) For to us a child is born...and the government will be on his shoulders...He will reign on David`s throne and over his kingdom..." (9:6-7)

a) Micah
b) Jeremiah
c) Isaiah

2. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (5:2)

a) Samuel
b) Ezekiel
c) Micah

3. "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." (31:31)

a) Amos
b) Jeremiah
c) Habakkuk

4. "Hear you now, O house of David... Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (7:13-14)

a) Jeremiah
b) Zephaniah
c) Isaiah

5. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (53:6)

a) Jeremiah
b) Malachi
c) Isaiah

6. "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me...But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend." (55:12-14)

a) Zechariah
b) Psalms
c) Zephaniah

7. "Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD" (11:13)

a) Zechariah
b) Micah
c) Ezekiel

8. "I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting." (50:6 I)

a) Daniel
b) Haggai
c) Isaiah

9. "For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet." (22:16)

a) Joel
b) Psalms
c) Daniel

10. "Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him" ( 22:8)

a) Jeremiah
b) Ezekiel
c) Psalms

11. "And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born" (12:10)

a) Jeremiah
b) Zechariah
c) Daniel

12. "And it will come about in that day, declares the Lord GOD, That I shall make the sun go down at noon And make the earth dark in broad daylight." (8:9)

a) Amos
b) Haggai
c) Malachi

13. "I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me." (22:14)

a) Baruch
b) Psalms
c) Nahum

14. "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (11:1)

a) Isaiah
b) Hosea
c) Psalms

15. "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." (53:7)

a) Haggai
b) Isaiah
c) Psalms

16. "After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight" (6:2)

a) Hosea
b) Micah
c) Jeremiah

Cultural Acceptance of Dependency

2008-05-16T11:35:00.004-06:00

Interesting observations by DavidDamberger during his travel time in Zambia, Africa:

"It is culturally acceptable here to be highly dependent on other people and expect to be taken care of by them and therefore what is often talked about here is that there is a culture of dependence. . . .

In practical terms, this culture of dependence has far reaching ramifications.
On a large scale, there is talk about how Africa is becoming completely dependent on aid money from other countries for its survival instead of figuring things out for themselves.
On a more micro-level, anybody who is seen as doing well, all of a sudden gets bombarded by other people needing them to take care of them.
When I first arrived here, I thought that the reason I was constantly being asked for money was only because I have white skin and these people were so used to white people giving things to them that it just was a natural thing to do. But being here longer, I’ve seen that it isn’t even so much the white skin as it is just being someone who is better off. My Zambian co-worker, Joshua, is asked for money way more often then I even am just because he has a good job that pays well."

This article creates very interesting questions in respect to our own culture:

What are some of the best ways to help others? (Give @ least 5 examples)
When is "helping" actually creating dependence? (Give @ least 2 examples)

Now turn the perspective around and ask yourself:

How are we (as a culture) dependent on others?
How am I dependent on others? Will that change with time or education?
What kinds of independence do I want and am I willing to take FULL responsibility for?

Now narrow the focus . . .

What are some thngs that I am dependent on? Which of those things might be a luxury to someone else but is a "necessity" to me? (Name @ least 20)
Are those dependencies good or bad for me?
Do any of them hurt others?
Is it fair that I have them and others do not?

sources: http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/blog-28920.html
You can read all of David's post at the URL above.

Details David gives readers of his travel blog:
In Southern Province of Zambia, the majority of the people here are of a certain tribe called the Tongans (there are 72 other tribes in Zambia). Tongan is a culture that I have immersed myself in, a language I have learnt to speak and a people of whom I have become so attached. Culture is a very deep concept and it would take hundreds of pages to just scratch the surface of it, but I’ve written a few things that I’ve observed about that culture that I thought would be of some interest. Of course, these are only my perceptions of the culture and only being here for less then a year, I have definitely haven’t understood things entirely the way they probably actually are.

Map of Zambia description: Southern Africa, east of Angola

2nd Grade Boys

2008-05-09T09:21:00.004-06:00

Hello 2nd Grade Boys!

1) Open up your word processor program

2) Type your NAME at the top of your document

3) copy this FUN Quiz using the right click technique

4) paste it into your document (under your name)

5) Answer the questions and PRINT out your finished QUIZ :-)

FUN Quiz:

What is your favorite kind of ice cream?
What is your favorite sport?
What color is your bike?
What is your favorite food?
What is your favorite animal?
When is your birthday?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What is your favorite chore at home?
What is your favorite activity or game in P.E.?
What is your favorite book?

No Bake Cookies

2008-05-02T15:37:00.002-06:00

4 Cups Sugar

1 Cup Margarine

1 Cup Milk

6 Tablespoons Cocoa

1 Cup Peanut Butter

Boil these for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add:

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

6 - 7 Cups Oats

Drop by tablespoon full onto tin foil or waxed paper. Wait until set. Eat!

H/T: Organized Mom

31 Cent Scoops!

2008-04-30T10:17:00.003-06:00

Yes, TODAY, April 30, 2008 is the day!

We learned in TECHNOLOGY class that you can get a scoop at Baskin Robbins for only 31 cents.

8th Grade Spreadsheet Assignment

2008-04-25T11:24:00.005-06:00

Create and print out a spreadsheet using Open Office (not Google) with the following data:
Every class member's:
(column A) name - include your own name in this data
(column B) phone number
(column C) birthday
(column D) email address

Use 10pt (size) Arial (font style)
Color: black
Bold your name
Sort A --> Z (be sure to highlight info in all cells or your names will not correspond with the correct data)

This classwork will be graded.

8th Grade Science Test

2008-04-17T12:03:00.001-06:00

The Aztec World

2008-04-15T10:35:00.004-06:00

The Aztec world

Aztec society

Nahuatl language
Aztec calendar
Aztec religion
Aztec mythology
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture

Aztec history

Aztlán
Aztec codices
Aztec warfare
Aztec Triple Alliance
Spanish conquest of Mexico
Siege of Tenochtitlan
La Noche Triste
Hernán Cortés

Ocean Information Hunt

2008-04-14T06:53:00.023-06:00

1) Oceans cover more than _______ % of the earth's surface.

2) What is the largest living animal on our planet?

3) What are the 5 largest oceans?

4) Which is the largest ocean?

5) What was the H.M.S. Challenger?

6) What are hydrothermal vents?

7) Give 5 examples of sources of ocean pollution.

8) Where did the Exxon Valdez oil spill take place?

9) What year did the oil spill happen?

10) In what year did the BP Oil Spill occur? By what 4 other names is it known?

sources:

http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/extreme2004/questions/index.html

http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/mmp/blue07.html

http://theos.in/world/the-largest-ocean-in-terms-of-area/

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03mountains/background/challenger/challenger.html

http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/deepsea/level-2/geology/vents.html

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/pollution/

http://www.eoearth.org/articl/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill?topic=58075

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP_Oil_Spill

for elementary sctudents -- 2nd through 4th
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/eviau/edit557/oceans/linda/loceans.htm

Awareness Test

2008-04-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

PHC - English Majors Script

2008-04-03T15:12:00.006-06:00

This is brought to you straight from the PHC site. If you are not familiar with Garrison Keiller you MUST check out A Prairie Home Companion on the radio.
If you ARE familiar with PHC you already know how great the scripts are and how amazing the radio talent is -- check out their website!

Listen

GK: ...brought to you by the Partnership of English Majors—(THEME) It's a beautiful thing, majoring in English, devoting yourself to the classics of English literature.

SS: No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From his vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:

GK: And even though your studies may not lead you to the career you were hoping for —

SS: Welcome to Little Buddy Burgers. Would you be interested in a Bucket O' Burgers today?

GK: Nonetheless you will always be an English major, and that means that language will always be important. Maybe too important.

SS: I don't understand why at the airport they put up a sign that says "This Is A Non-Smoking Terminal"—

TR: What?

SS: "This Is A Non-Smoking Terminal" — why?

TR: What's wrong?

SS: It implies that it's the terminal that is not smoking. What they mean to say is — "Don't Smoke In This Building" — Or— "No Smoking" — Why not say so?

TR: Jennifer, please—

SS: It just infuriates me when people misuse the language. I can't help it. It makes me wild with fury. It's our language, Richard!!!! Let's use it properly!!! Is that too much to ask???

TR: Jennifer, what are you doing?

SS: I am going to the airport, Richard, and I am going to stand under the "This Is A Non-Smoking Terminal" sign and I am going to light up a cigarette. And when they arrest me, I am going to take this to court and if I'm convicted I will appeal on the grounds that the sign did not say what it meant.

TR: Honey, please.

SS: It's my duty as an English major — when we allow our language to be degraded, it is degrading to us as a people!

TR: Please, don't.

SS: I have to do this.

GK: Now there is help for language obsession with the English Major hotline. TR (RECORDING): Welcome to the Hotline of English. If you wish to hear this message in Spanish, say "Por Favor" or press one. If you wish to hear it in Italian, say "Prego" or press two. (BEEP) (TR ITALIAN AND FADE)

GK: We learn language tolerance by venturing into another language and making our own mistakes.

SS: (HESITANT) Si prega di scusarmi per essere così stupido. (TR ITALIAN DISAPPROVAL) I am trying, okay?!?!? (SOBS)

GK: The English Hotline — available in fifteen different languages — now including Swedish (TR SWEDISH) a service from the Partnership of English Majors.

Disclaimer: There is no copyright infringement intended with this quoted information. This is posted in full because my students are not allowed to go to outside websites. I have credited the original source AND I strongly endorse the program to other readers of this blog.

A Brief History

If you are asking yourself . . . . what is A Prairie Home Companion????? . . . . here is the start of that answer at the site's brief history web page.

"If you showed up on July 6, 1974, at the Janet Wallace Auditorium at Macalester College in Saint Paul and plunked down your $1 admission (50 cents for kids) to attend the very first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, you were in select company. There were about 12 people in the audience. But those in attendance thought there were worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon, so Garrison Keillor and the APHC team went on to produce close to 500 live shows in the first 10 years alone."

Read the rest of the story here!

Why is the Sky Blue?

2008-04-03T10:11:00.018-06:00

Sunlight is made up of all the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The gas molecules in the atmosphere interact with the sunlight before the light reaches our eyes.

The gas molecules in the atmosphere scatter the higher-energy (high frequency) blue portion of the sunlight more than they scatter the lower-energy red portion of the sunlight (this is called Rayleigh scattering, named for the physicist Lord John Rayleigh). The Sun appears reddish-yellow and the sky surrounding the Sun is colored by the scattered blue waves.

When the Sun is lower in the horizon (near sunrise or sunset), the sunlight must travel through a greater thickness of atmosphere than it does when it is overhead, and even more light is scattered (not just blue, but also green, yellow, and orange) before the light reaches your eyes. This makes the sun look much redder.

Caution: Never stare directly at the Sun.

Extra Credit Question for everyone: What do the letters of this acronym stand for?

Roy G. Biv

Questions for middle school students:

1) How many miles away from the earth is the sun?

2) How long does it take the sun's light to reach the earth?

3) The continuous fusion of WHAT? into WHAT? keeps the core of the Sun cooking at HOW MANY DEGREES? degrees Fahrenheit.

4) How long would it take traveling nonstop at 70mph to reach the sun?

Look here for answers to #s 1 through 4.

5) What bends more - violet light or red light? You can find the answer here. The author of this answer is Lou Bloomfield, Professor of Physics, University of Virginia.

6) Does light refract? Why or why not?

Refract: The turning or bending of any wave when it passes from one medium into another of different density. (source: Answers.com)

sources:
Enchanted Learning
Answers.com
windows.ucar.edu.com
Howthingswork.virginia.edu

Acronym Names

2008-04-03T09:47:00.020-06:00

An Acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of words. For example: USA, AC, SAT (the test), BTW, BFFF

Now that you know what an acronym is . . . . Let's make a fun acronym using EACH letter of our name!

Type your name on a word document. Type each letter under the previous letter.
Example:
K
A
T
H
Y

Write a word for each letter that describes you.
Example:
K kind
A active
T thoughtful
H humorous
Y youthful

Find three synonyms for each word by using the thesaurus in your computer.
Example:
K kind, friendly, gentle, loving
A active, speedy, effective, bustling
T thoughtful, careful, observant, tactful
H humorous, entertaining, boffo, funny
Y youthful, young, fresh, new

Oh Yeah!

2008-04-01T20:53:00.000-06:00

Happy April!

2008-04-01T20:38:00.000-06:00

National Autism Awareness Month
National Poetry Month
National Keep America Beautiful Month
National Aquarium Month
April Fools Day (1)
Hans Christian Anderson (2)
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (2)
Washington Irving (3)
Find a Rainbow Day (3)
No Housework Day (7)
Red Sox Home Opener (8)
100th Day of the Year (9)
Thomas Jefferson (13)
Tax Day (15)
National Animal Crackers Day (18)
Swan Boats Resume (19)
Patriot's Day (21)
Boston Marathon (21)
Earth Day (22)
William Shakespeare (23)
Arbor Day (25)

Pal and What?

2008-04-01T09:45:00.002-06:00

OK . . . . pop quiz. What do all the sentences in these lyrics have in common?

They are palindromes!
Gotta love Weird Al. Thank you to AWTY for finding this! It just makes learning downright, out and out fun.

Beijing Olympics

2008-03-11T08:19:00.005-06:00

Let's wheeze our way to Beijing by way (historically) of France and Greece.

This is episode, No. 2343 from Engines of Our Ingenuity.

Media coverage of the Beijing Olympics seems more about athletes -- not records -- that will fall. Cars, construction and coal-burning factories cast a permanent and leaden shroud over this city of twelve million. Particulate matter, not athletic matters, is on everyone's mind because it will be in everyone's lungs. The American trainer has told his athletes to wear masks from the airport to the starting line.

This is a funny business: you see, the modern Olympics were meant to cure the ills that overwhelm Beijing. This, at least, was the hope of the Olympics founder, Pierre de Coubertin. Coubertin was the child of an aristocratic Parisian family. In the wake of France's many revolutions Coubertin's noble family became as irrelevant as, well, ancient Greek.

As it turned out, ancient Greek -- specifically the ancient Greek Olympics -- would be Coubertin's and France's salvation.

The young aristocrat spent his youth fencing, boxing and riding horses. But Coubertin then visited England in 1883 and had a vision. He toured Rugby and Eton, on whose playing fields Waterloo had been won. What if France had had its own playing fields, Coubertin wondered? Would it have lost at Waterloo? Or been humiliated in its war with Germany in 1870? Couldn't organized sports remake France's martial spirit?

In fact, couldn't it also counter the ills of industrialization and urbanization that were transforming France and sickening its citizens? Coubertin decided to rejuvenate a pallid and puny France. His aim was to put "color in the cheeks of a solitary and confined youth, toughen his body and character by sport." Coubertin quickly discovered that the lack of green spaces was matched by the state's lack of interest. Many officials even believed physical competition was elitist.

But Coubertin persisted. The turning point was a meeting he organized in Paris in 1894, where representatives from thirteen countries agreed to revive the ancient Olympics. Coubertin was overjoyed: he believed the resurrected Olympics would make the world more peaceful. He also thought they would offer a healthy and pure ideal to a world swept by mass industrialization, mass entertainment, and mass consumption.

And so, the Olympics were reborn in 1896. But what about Coubertin's dreams? Some might say they were stillborn; WWI certainly buried his internationalist hopes. And the ills of modernization have not gone away. Look at China, overwhelmed by the same problems that plagued 19th century Europe, but at a vastly greater scale. In 2002, there were 25,000 premature deaths in Beijing alone due to particulate matter. In comparison, Coubertin's goal of putting color back in youthful cheeks seems positively quaint. Less quaint is the prospect of athletes running and jumping with asthma inhalers at hand.

Yet, the perseverance of these athletes reflects Coubertin's own doggedness on behalf of an ideal that, though battered, still inspires. Let the games begin!

E. Weber, My France: Politics, Culture and Myth. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991).

Jesse Owens, victor at Hitler's 1936 Olympics (internationalism ensnared). Both images courtesy of Wikipedia.

As Goes California. . . ?

2008-03-10T09:04:00.016-06:00

This is a post from a blog that I frequent. "Jamin" is a homeschooling Mom. She has put together an article that is jam packed with information about this very important current event.

The direct link to her blog is at the end of this post. Here is her complete article:

I looked and looked to try to find out where the saying "Where goes California, there goes the rest of the country." But, I couldn't find it. It does come to mind though with the recent news about homeschooling in California. I doubt there is a homeschooler in America who has not heard what happened last week in California. For anyone who doesn't know what is going on a California Court of Appeal recently decided that homeschooling is illegal in California unless a parent is a certified teacher. Right now more than 166,000 families are homeschooling illegally in California!

I have said it before and I'll say it again...I left my heart in California! I LOVE California! (If the cost of living didn't run our family out of the State I would still be there!) Leaving California was the biggest sacrifice I have made to be able to homeschool my kids. With all that said I can tell you the homeschool atmosphere in California has never been a friendly one. We started out homeschooling in California and homeschooled there a total of 5 years. I was amazed when we left California how much easier it was to homeschool in another State. (I am now homeschooling in my 3rd State and there is no comparison to what it is like in California.)

I can only speak for myself but I thought I would share a little of what it was like to homeschool in a less than friendly State. When we lived in California I was very hesitant to be out of the house during "school" hours. We didn't tell people we didn't know that we homeschooled. We loved our house because it was very private and our kids could be outside all day and no one would ever know they were there. I did not allow my kids to answer the phone or the door during school hours. I did not take my kids to the doctor or for haircuts during "school" hours. We didn't go shopping, out to lunch or anything else that would draw attention to ourselves. The only thing we did during the week was Bible Study at church (Which had a lot of homeschoolers.) If we went on field trips we went with a large group of other homeschoolers so we looked like a school group.

So why is it like this? (This is only my opinion.) The main reason I feel is because California has never dealt with getting homeschool laws in the State. Homeschooling has NEVER been legal in California! To educate your children at home each family had to set up a private school in their home. Yep, you heard me right! Each year we had to fill our an affidavit that we were operating a private school and would follow all the rules that governed private schools. Oddly enough, there are not that many things you had to do! Basically what was required was to fill out the affidavit, keep roll each day, and keep each child's immunization records on file. There was no required amount of hours you had to teach. There was no required curriculum. The only requirement was that you had something like 20 minutes of P.E. every 3 days. (I may be quoting that wrong, It has been 4 years since we left.) You did not have to be a credentialed teacher. Once all these requirements were met you were considered a Private Home Educator. If you called the school system and asked about homeschooling you would be told it was illegal. Several years when we received the paperwork to fill out our affidavits there was a cover letter attached telling everyone that homeschooling was illegal in California. Not very comforting!

The one thing I DON'T miss about California is the homeschool laws.

With all this said let me get back to my opening sentence. "Where goes California, there goes the rest of the country." I am sure there are a lot of people reading this thinking "I live thousands of miles from California, how can this effect me?" The thing to remember is that 1 out of 3 people in America live in California! This State has a LOT of influence over our Country! If the laws in California become even more hostile towards homeschooling then a presidence has been set for the whole Country. This also hits the news and suddenly your neighbor who has never known anyone but you who homeschools just has in the back of their mind that it's illegal....It is not a good idea to place in peoples heads!

Please don't think I am trying to scare anyone. I am just pointing out that we as a group cannot become complacent. Homeschooling for most of us is NOT under fire. But together we are much stronger. (United we stand, divided we fall.) I have seen this coming for years. (Really I have, you can ask my friend Faye! We have discussed it many times. LOL) I knew that at some point homeschoolers in California would have to deal with the fact that they were homeschooling around the laws.

Thank God for HSLDA! They are on the ball and they will not let this slide. In case you didn't know YOU can help. Please visit the HSLDA site and sign the petition to request Depublishing of California Court Case In re Rachel L. This is really much more than a homeschooling concern. This should be a concern for any person who wants parents in America to retain their parental rights.

If you want to learn more about this you can click HERE to read the information page about the court case at the HSLDA website. You can read the court opinion HERE. HERE you can read HSLDA's response to the courts ruling. HERE you can listen to the Focus on the Family broadcast on the case.

Please do take a moment to sign the petition. Also, and maybe even more importantly, please join me in praying for our fellow homeschoolers in California.

There is one ray of hope in the situation...Governor Schwarzenegger has vowed to protect homeschooling in California. You can read about it HERE.

LONG LIVE HOMESCHOOLING!

Just Call Me Jamin!

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema

Iditarod

2008-03-09T11:36:00.004-06:00

Learning about the Iditarod is fun!
Here is some information to get you started.

You can’t compare it to any other competitive event in the world! A race over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod.

A race extraordinaire, a race only possible in Alaska.

From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days.

It has been called the “Last Great Race on Earth” and it has won worldwide acclaim and interest. German, Spanish, British, Japanese and American film crews have covered the event. Journalists from outdoor magazines, adventure magazines, newspapers and wire services flock to Anchorage and Nome to record the excitement. It’s not just a dog sled race, it’s a race in which unique men and woman compete.

Mushers enter from all walks of life. Fishermen, lawyers, doctors, miners, artists, natives, Canadians, Swiss, French and others; men and women each with their own story, each with their own reasons for going the distance. It’s a race organized and run primarily by volunteers, thousands of volunteers, men and women, students and village residents. They man headquarters at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Nome and Wasilla. They fly volunteers, veterinarians, dog food and supplies. They act as checkers, coordinators, and family supporters of each musher.

Sources:
http://www.iditarod.com/learn/

Spring Ahead!

2008-03-08T17:45:00.003-06:00

Ever wonder about Daylight Saving Time?

Areas that observe daylight saving time
Areas that once observed daylight saving time
Areas that have never observed daylight saving time

Who put extra day on the calendar?

2008-02-28T21:24:00.003-06:00

Thank Caesar and Pope Gregory for the Feb. 29 leap day

by Kimberly Donnelly

Most people know leap years — those years when an extra day gets tacked onto the end of February — happen every four years. But which four years? How do we know when to start counting? And what’s this rumor about there not being a leap year on a century year?

A little digging has uncovered it’s a little complicated, but when dealing with concepts such as time and the universe, that’s to be expected.

A year is a leap year if it is divisible by four (that’s easy). But, if the year is also divisible by 100, then it is not a leap year (there’s that century rumor), unless it is also divisible by 400. Ahh. So that’s why eight years ago the year 2000 was a leap year. In fact, it was the first century leap year since 1600.

Who makes this stuff up?

Caesar and the Pope

Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory, that’s who.

Someone had to do something in order to keep the seasons from drifting into different months. The exact length of a year — that is, how long it actually takes the earth to revolve around the sun — is 365.24219 days. That means if the calendar year were just 365 days, the seasons, which are determined by the position of the earth as it orbits the sun, would shift a quarter of a day every year. Not such a big deal, until 100 years go by and autumn is beginning in mid-August, 25 days earlier than it used to.

So, in 45 BC, Caesar decided to add a day at the end of February (back then, it was the last day of the year) every four years.

This was an improvement, because now the average calendar year was 365.25 days, which was closer to the actual year, but it still didn’t fix the problem. At 365.25 days, now the calendar year was too long, and the seasons would eventually drift the other way, falling one day later every 128 years.

In 1582, Pope Gregory was apparently bothered enough by the shifting seasons that he decided to do something about it. In one fell swoop, he changed the end of the calendar year to Dec. 31, he left 10 days out of October, and he added the “no leap year on a year divisible by 100 unless it’s also divisible by 400” part of the rule.

Now the seasons were back in phase with the calendar, and the average calendar year was 365.2425 days, much closer to a true year.

The Gregorian calendar, with all of its leaping intricacies, is what we still use today in order to keep the seasons where they are supposed to be.

With leap year working so well, it’s likely to be around far into the foreseeable future. But it’s not perfect. Even with the complicated leap year rules, there will still be a drift in the calendar year of one day every 3,300 years.

Think we can live with that?

Read the full article here.

Reconciliation

2008-02-28T13:38:00.004-06:00

Stranger by Yulia Ackerholt

Are you living the way you know is right and just? We often try to ignore our sins. This causes us to not even be reconciled to ourselves.

Lent is a season of reconciliation, a season for reconciliation. There are many kinds of reconciliation. I might need to be reconciled with God... I might need to be reconciled with my neighbor... I might need to be reconciled with my church... I might need to be reconciled with myself... I might need to be reconciled with...

If I am serious about reconciliation then I must be serious about naming where there is alienation in my life because that's where I'm in need of reconciliation...

This poem pours out of an alienated heart... perhaps it will lead us to know our own alienation and to seek to be reconciled...

Lost One Soul

I lost my soul in a fit of temper
I threw it at somebody's head
and slammed out
without a second thought

Then I dumped it in a wastebin
along with a love I said I was finished with

I sandpapered my spirit
with a million
bitter barbs
and sent it into orbit
and substituted
guilt instead

My soul went cold
with memories of old friends and kin
who never expected
to be neglected,
and resolutions
I'd eluded

Then one day
I went to feed it
and it was gone
and now I hear it howling
in the wind outside
in the nights
in the hills

and I get the chills inside

and hide
in something that's not important
and it's four in the morning
before I can get warm enough
to weep enough
to fall asleep

- Sandy McIntosh, in Jamaica Woman,
Pamela Mordecai and Mervyn Morris, editors

H/T: this post has been ever so gently edited. MOST of it comes straight from A Concord Pastor Comments. http://concordpastor.blogspot.com/

The Winners; Cinquain Poetry

2008-02-22T14:55:00.007-06:00

Victor
feisty, playful
eating, playing, sleeping
- a special cat that's always there
friend

Jordan's poem

Dragons
enormous, strong
flying, fire-breathing, eating
- a creature that never was
snake

Cinquain Poem: pronounced "cin-kain"- a diamond-shaped poem with 5 lines
Directions for writing a cinquain poem can be found at: Spot Those Turns

Cinquain Poem

2008-02-22T07:14:00.002-06:00

First: Create a CINQUAIN POEM in a word doc. (pronounced "cin-kain"- a diamond-shaped poem with 5 lines)
Line 1: Write a noun.
Line 2: Write two adjectives describing the noun on Line 1;
Line 3: Write 3 words ending with -ing (action words) that describe what the noun on Line 1 might do;
Line 4: Write a phrase describing the noun on Line 1; and
Line 5: Write a synonym of the word on Line 1.
Example: "My Wonderful Mother"

Mother
kind, helpful
caring, loving, sharing
- a special person in my life
friend

Second: copy and paste an appropriate image into your doc.
Third: Ask the teacher check your poem and then you may print and take your poem home.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
note: Objectives of this lesson are

to teach the class how to write a cinquain poem (TSW create a *cinquain poem)
to teach copying and pasting an image (TSW demonstrate how to copy and paste an image)
and to enjoy creating a valentine for a loved one

* A cinquain poem is a diamond-shaped poem with 5 lines (Incorporates oral, analytical thinking, reading and writing skills)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Winners - Cinquain Poetry

Cinquain Poem: pronounced "cin-kain"- a diamond-shaped poem with 5 lines

My 5th graders wrote cinquain poems today. Here are two that stood out! These students followed directions, were thoughtful in their writing and worked diligently to finish in the alotted time frame.

Cassie's poem

Victor
feisty, playful
eating, playing, sleeping
- a special cat that's always there
friend

Jordan's poem

Dragons
enormous, strong
flying, fire-breathing, eating
- a creature that never was
snake

reference:
From Apol and Harris's article ("Joyful Noises: Creating Poems for Voices and Ears." Language Arts 76.4 (March 1999): 314-322)

This exercise is a scaffolding experience that "leads students beyond a superficial encounter to a deeper understanding and appreciation of poetry".
Through writing their own cinquain students can more easily move from simply reading poems to analyzing poems and, ultimately, composing their own poems that match the format.
This lesson is one way to build interest in poetry is by using magnetic words to create original poems.

Giving Thanks

2008-02-19T09:20:00.009-06:00

6th Grade .... Today's lesson helps us improve research and formatting skills.

Here is your assignment:

Copy and paste the questions below into a document.
Answer the questions and fill in the blanks using the 2 approved sources listed below (they are links)
Read the primary source information in full - do not just "search for answers"
You name and grade should be at the top.
Use verdana, 14 pt and double space
Use complete sentences to answer questions.
When "filling in the blank" please underline your answer. Format your document so that there are no extra lines between words.
The last question is an extra credit question. The answer cannot be found in the sources.
Print out your completed assignment.

What does eucharistic mean?
What does doxological mean?
Fr. Alexander Schmemann's says that, "Everyone capable of giving thanks is capable of ____________________."
We are “eucharistic, doxological beings.” That means we are beings who are created to give ___________ (”eucharistic”) and __________ (”doxological”) to God.
In Romans 1:21 St. Paul scolds us because the Romans (and we) fail to ______________.
According to Romans 1:21; "because they failed to _________________ they became ____________ in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were ____________ ."
What books of the Bible come before and after Romans?
H/T means "hat tip". Authors use this abbreviation when crediting someone else for an idea or post. Who received a H/T in this post?
When was this information posted at Catholic Notebook?
Extra Credit: What is the greatest thanksgiving prayer?

Primary source
The Book of Romans in the New Testament (NAB)

Apostle Quiz

2008-02-15T12:24:00.009-06:00

1. "Apostle" means in Greek
a) envoy
b) messenger
c) both

2. Which apostle was named "rock" by Jesus?
a) James
b) Thomas
c) Peter

3. Which apostle was the brother of Peter
a) John
b) Andrew
c) Philip

4. Which apostles were the sons of Zebedee? (Also, sometimes called the sons of Thunder! Also, the same names as the sons of Mr Hebert!)
a) Matthew and Thomas
b) Simon and Jude
c) James and John

5. Philip came from
a) Jerusalem
b) Capernaum
c) Bethsaida

6. Many apostles were
a) bakers
b) fishermen
c) blacksmiths

7. What does "Gospel" mean?
a) "good news" from Greek
b) gossip
c) Jesus Christ'

8. The Gospel includes
a) five books
b) one book
c) four books

9. Which apostle is sometimes called Nathanael?
a) Simon
b) Bartholomew
c) Judas Iscariot'

10. Matthew was
a) a blacksmith from Jerusalem
b) a fishermen from Bethsaida
c) a tax collector from Capernaum

11. Which apostle doubted the resurrection of Jesus?
a) Philip
b) Thomas
c) both

12. How many apostles did Jesus nomiante?
a) 12
b) 7
c) 11

13. Jesus was betrayed by
a) Jude
b) Judas Iscariot
c) Mary Magdalene

14. Who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot?
a) Jude
b) Matthias
c) Stephen

15. Was Paul one of the Twelve nominated by Jesus?
a) yes
b) no
c) it depends

16. Who are most prominent figures, after Jesus, in infant Christianity?
a) Apostle Peter, Paul of Tarsus
b) James, Judas Iscariot
c) Peter, Paul and Mary

Answer acronym:
Can children bring cold cucumbers back after class? 9Better cry before answering because bees buzz angily!

I can add this note now that my kids have all taken this quiz:
Not one of them asked what the sentence labeled "Answer acronym" meant.
No one noticed it contained the answer key! I was laughing on the inside because I remember a high school science teacher who was famous for "hiding" answer keys in plain sight. This reminds me of the quote,

"About 5% of the people in the world can't pay attention.
Another 5% can pay attention and do.
The remaining 90% can pay attention but don't."

This "Answer acronym" was included to help my readers (and me) check our answers. I typed in the number 9 to help me keep track of where I was as I graded the quizzes.
I found this quizz at a website page called: Bible Quizzes
If you use it, be aware of the fact that it is a Protestant site. Be sure to review the information before using it in lessons.

7th Grade Class Assignment

2008-02-11T06:55:00.000-06:00

Assignment for middle school students

First: Read this quote by David Suzuki
“Our personal consumer choices have ecological, social, and spiritual consequences. It is time to re-examine some of our deeply held notions that underlie our lifestyles.”

~David Suzuki
(Canadian environmentalist, scientist and broadcaster)

Second: Answer the following questions in an open office document:
Document requirements: Vedana, 12 pts, spacing 1.5, black or dark blue.
Standard heading (name, grade, date, TKC) as required by school

7th - Find background information on David Suzuki via approved search links listed below. Describe David Suzuki and be sure to include answers to the following questions:

What are some of David Suzuki's accomplishments?
Where was he born and where does he live now?
How old is he?
What is his educational background?
What are his passions? What are his concerns?
Describe his "Nature Challenge"
What are consumer choices? Give examples.
What does this have to do with being Catholic? (hints: Catholics on the Environment)

A Cool Math Game

2008-02-08T11:24:00.001-06:00

MATH GAME

Schools Should Be Run Like Businesses

2008-02-06T05:11:00.000-06:00

I found a fabulous quote over at Bending the Twigs that nicely sums up problems facing government-run schools. It's from a former corporate CEO named Jamie Robert Vollmer. He was giving a speech to government schoolteachers about how schools should be run more like businesses when a veteran English teacher asked what happened if his ice cream business received a sub par shipment of raw ingredients. He admitted that he would send it back:

"And so began my long transformation. Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material, they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night."

You can read the full Education Week article from which the quote was taken here.

Even if a business receives "quality ingredients" the whole approach of a business has nothing to do with nurturing or igniting imaginations. Business is all about efficiency, cookie cutter, meeting deadlines. . . If I had not found a school of the caliber of my son's (and if I did not teach there ) -- I would definitely home school.

Our Gene Kelly Lesson

2008-02-02T19:23:00.000-06:00

We listened to Gene Kelly telling the classic story of The Shoemaker and the Elves last week in class. The idea was to give the students a taste of old fashioned "listening" -- with no video or illustrations . We talked about what things were like before tv, the Internet, DVDs, etc.
The story was a big hit with some of the kids; others could not have cared less. It was interesting to see the diversity of attention spans and curiosity/willingness to try to "use their imaginations" to "see" the story.

Audio Stream

Click here to listen

After they listened to the story we discussed story telling. That lead to the narrator, Gene Kelly. None of the children had heard of him so we went on a quest. We walked through the school conducting a survey of the teachers. The question asked was, "What was Gene Kelly famous for?" (Not a grammatically correct question, shame on me).
The results became a lesson on fractions. The resultant reduced fraction told an interesting story. 7/8ths of the teachers had heard of Gene Kelly and said that he was famous for his dancing. 1/2 of those added singing and acting to his claims to fame. It was a cool lesson extender. Next week we take a few minutes to watch Gene Kelly dance in some clips I am putting together. Here is one:

Suzuki Quote - 6th, 7th, 8th grade classwork

2008-02-01T11:03:00.001-06:00

Assignment for middle school students

Read David Suzuki's quote over at Catholic Notebook: Ecological, Spiritual and Social Consequences.

Answer the following questions in an open office document:
Document requirements: Vedana, 12 pts, spacing 1.5, black or dark blue.
Standard heading (name, grade, date, TKC) as required by school

6th - What are examples of "consumer choices"? Give 1 example of how our lifestyle choices affect us in each of Suzuki's categories.

7th - Find background information on David Suzuki via approved search links listed below. Describe David Suzuki and be sure to include answers to the following questions:

What are some of David Suzuki's accomplishments?
Where was he born and where does he live now?
How old is he?
What is his educational background?
What are his passions? What are his concerns?
Describe his "Nature Challenge"
What are consumer choices? Give examples.
What does this have to do with being Catholic? (hints: Catholics on the Environment)

8th Grade

Give examples of how our lifestyle choices affect us in each of Suzuki's categories.

Find background information on David Suzuki via approved search links listed below. Describe David Suzuki and be sure to include answers to the following questions:

What are some of David Suzuki's accomplishments?
Where was he born and where does he live now?
How old is he?
What is his educational background?
What are his passions? What are his concerns?
Describe his "Nature Challenge"
What are consumer choices? Give examples.

2 part EXTRA CREDIT for 6th, 7th and 8th: Read the following quote
(1) describe how is David Suzuki's philosophy is different from Christianity.

"Native people refer to the Earth as our mother and tell us we are made of the four sacred elements: earth, air, fire and water. On reflection, I realized that they are absolutely right and that science corroborates their insights. We are created by the air, water, earth and sunlight." (from an interview with American Scientist Online)

(2) Can people with different philosophies and religions work together towards a common cause? Why or why not?

Josh Groban

2008-02-01T00:16:00.000-06:00

Josh Groban was probably the first Internet-made star - meaning he was talked about, discovered by so many people in such a short time via the Internet that it catapulted him to the mainstream forefront. We have seen this happen since but Josh may well have been the first.

Of Course! Cuppa Joe

2008-01-31T05:23:00.000-06:00

You are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated.
You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys.
Down to earth, easy going, and fun!
Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.
And you are dependable, too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

H/T/: painting credit: Rene's album at PicasaWeb

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Dancin' in the Moonlight!

2008-01-30T15:35:00.000-06:00

Path of the Moon through Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows
during the Total Lunar Eclipse of February 20, 2008.
(Eastern Standard Time)

From the NASA site:

A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the night of Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event is visible from South America and most of North America as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.

An eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

If only part of the Moon passes through the umbra, a partial eclipse is seen. However, if the entire Moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the Moon occurs. For more information on how, what, why, where and when of lunar eclipses, see the special web page lunar eclipses for beginners.

Read the rest of the info at the NASA site

Catholics on the Environment

2008-01-28T11:09:00.000-06:00

One must take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system,which is precisely the ‘Cosmos’.

- On Social Concern (Solicitudo Rei Socialis) 1988, No. 34

__________________________________________________________________

The image of the creator must shine forth ever more clearly, not only in his creature man, but in all of his creation in nature.

- Pope Paul VI to the Council of the World Wildlife Fund, 1969

___________________________________________________________________

Pope John Paul II invited some 4,000 people gathered in the rain to praise God and see the imprint of His love in the beauty of creation. He called the beauty of creation the first book that God has entrusted to the mind and heart of man. The beauty of nature impels the soul to recall God’s goodness, (the Pope) told the crowd that gathered to pray the angelus with him.

- Pope links beauty of creation to God’s love,
Angelus Address given in the Italian Alps, 15 July 2001

___________________________________________________________________

Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the Earth as we have in the past.

The public in general as well as political leaders are concerned about this problem, and experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying its causes. Moreover, a new ecological awareness is beginning to emerge which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programs and initiatives

Introduction to the Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the celebration
of the World Day of Peace, 1 January 1990

___________________________________________________________________

The ecological crisis is a moral issue... Respect for life and for the dignity of the human person extends also to the rest of creation... we cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of such interference in other areas and to the well-being of future generations.

- Pope John Paul II, 1990

___________________________________________________________________

God made man the steward of creation

1. In the hymn of praise proclaimed . . . (Ps 148:1-5), the Psalmist summons all creatures, calling them by name. Angels, sun, moon, stars and heavens appear on high; twenty-two things move upon the Earth, as many as the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in order to give an impression of fullness and totality.

The believer, in a sense, is “the shepherd of being”, that is, the one who leads all beings to God, inviting them to sing an “alleluia” of praise. The Psalm brings us into a sort of cosmic church whose apse is the heavens and whose aisles are the regions of the world, in which the choir of God's creatures sings his praise.

GENERAL AUDIENCE
Pope John Paul II, Wednesday 17 January 2001

___________________________________________________________________

In this rediscovered harmony with nature and with one another, men and women are once again walking in the garden of creation, seeking to make the goods of the Earth available to all and not just to a privileged few, as the biblical jubilee suggests (cf. Lv 25:8-13, 23).

Among those marvels we find the Creator’s voice, transmitted by heaven and Earth, by night and day: a language “with no speech nor words; whose voice is not heard” and which can cross all boundaries (cf. Ps 19[18]:2-5).

___________________________________________________________________

The Book of Wisdom, echoed by Paul, celebrates God’s presence in the world, recalling that “from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator” (Wis 13:5; cf. Rom 1:20). This is also praised in the Jewish tradition of the Hasidim: “Where I wander – You! Where I ponder – You!... In every trend, at every end, only You, You again, always You!” (M Buber, Tales of the Hasidim [Italian ed., Milan 1979, p 256]).

Pope John Paul II, 2001

Enhancing Education Through Picture Books

2008-01-23T12:28:00.000-06:00

A website after my own children's booklover's heart!

A Picture Perfect Childhood

From the wonderful author of Catholic Mosiac!

Snowflakes

2008-01-21T00:23:00.000-06:00

Let's make Some Paper Snowflakes!

But first, read about the Snowflake Man, Wilson Bentley. From the earliest memories of our childhood, many of us can remember hearing the phrase "no two snowflakes are alike". This discovery was made in the small rural town of Jericho, Vermont by Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931).

His snowflake images are gorgeous!

In The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions for Children's Faith Formation
(a liturgical craft books for young children) I read that snowflakes were once called "St. Agnes flowers."
Today, January 21, is St Agnes' Feast Day!

Kiddierecords.com

2008-01-20T02:13:00.000-06:00

MR. TOAD and TICKETY TOCK

Week 02

Mr. Toad

This is a very faithful audio rendition of the probably NOT so faithful (but exceedingly charming) Disney animated film version of Kenneth Graham's "The Wind and the Willows". The recording features most of the original cast including the wonderfully "fruity" (as very accurately described on the Weekly Recordings 2006 Message Board by member "Crispin"), Eric Blore as eccentric Mr. Toad and J. Pat O' Malley (a familiar character actor with an appearance like Alfred Hitchcock that has been seen and heard in hundreds of cartoons, movies and television shows), as Cyril the horse. Their performance of "No Where In Particular" has always been one of my favorites of the more obscure numbers in the Disney musical stable. The story is told quickly and adeptly though, curiously, sometimes in rhyming verse and other times not. The "action" is nicely realized, orchestrally, by the VERY facile Billy May and the story comes to a satisfying conclusion with the requisite (in children's programming), but vague moral about learning something, as Toad did. I also would like to note that the album art on this particular recording is made up of excellent 4 color illustrations of key moments in the story, very nicely rendered by the Disney studio for this recording. All in all a very nice package of a great little story, sure to appeal to adults as well as kiddies.

Tickety Tock

One of the great, simple little children's records, "Tickity Tock, The Clock That Couldn't Tell Time" is extremely well cast and produced. It is really a shame that the cover art on this offering does not live up to it's aural counterpart. I recognized a couple of familiar, unaccredited voices. Grandfather Clock and Farmer appear to be Pinto Colvig (Goofy, Bozo, Grumpy, etc) and then, of course, the Quintessential Arthur Q. Bryan (Elmer Fudd) as Tickity Tock. The story by Ted Pierce and Warren Foster is very cute and is augmented by a nice Billy May score. Looks like a lot of big people in the animation industry at that time did moonlighting for the Kiddie Records industry. Lucky for us, and in this case for "Tickity Tock", they did.

Dave Pruiksma

Mr. Toad

Basil Rathbone and Original Cast

Music by Billy May

(1) 12" 78RPM record in bi-fold sleeve

Total Time: 10:34

Tickety Tock

Knox Manning featuring Arthur Q. Bryan

Music by Billy May

Capitol EAS-3016

(1) 12" 78RPM record in bi-fold sleeve

Total Time: 9:00

Download Option A

Mr. Toad

Tickety Tock

Image Zip File

Download Option B

Torrent Zip File

Audio Stream

Click here to play both records

Wow! KiddieRecords.com

Spot Those Turns!

Solve the Mystery of a Check Engine Light

Beneath My Heart Giveaway

February's Budding Moon

Pictionary + Whisper Down the Lane = Fun!

That's My New Philosophy (#1)

I Should've Ordered Glutinous Rice Chicken!

Want Love That Goes the Distance?

Lunar Eclipse - December 21, 2010

Total Lunar Eclipse of December 21

Hiding (One of my Favorite Childhood Poems)

Hiding by Dorothy Keeley Aldis 1896 -1966

Billy Collins' Litany - Recited by a 3 year old

Your Oxymoron for the Day

Insect Eating Clock? I Kid You Not!

Am I Krumping Now?

BP - It's a Sign!

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew

Dog Diary and Cat Diary

Hudsucker Proxy

Mimeographs, Rotary Phones and Typewriters

Another Brick in the Wall

Ants Can Count?

Interactive Map Quizzes - ILike2Learn

Atoms Around Us

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/atom_intro.html

What's the Matter?

Matter is the Stuff Around You

Changing States of Matter

Ancient Civilizations - index by Kings Park Elementary

Ancient Egypt - Map and Facts

Ancient China - Map and Facts

The Tower of Babel

Jello Animal Cell

Whales

Change Your Password

Scam hits more e-mail accounts

Obama's Plan Taxes the Sick

Michelle Obama on Sesame Street

All in Good Fun . . . . Lefties, Don't Be Mad!

The Greatest Commandment of All

FROM TEXAS TO CENTRAL PARK

Nancy Drew's Guide To Life

A Joan Walsh Anglund Poem

A Friend Gift to Pass On!

Originally posted over at Catholic Notebook on Friday, January 23, 2009

Links to this post

Self Publishing

Cheers!

Book (with sub titles) & in English

B O O K

A-Z Retail Tricks To Make You Shop

Four!

Personal Update

Yes, I Teach in Texas

The Blogger's Resume

I Went to the Woods Because

See Spot Run!

Find it Friday 1

13 Of The Best Observation Points For The Northern Lights

Greenland

Bear Lake, Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska

Iceland

Murmansk, Russia

Yellowknife, Canada

Norway

Finland

Sweden

Estonia

Lake Superior, Michigan

Scotland, UK

From The Sky

Fun with Online Pup

June 2008

Prophecies Quiz

Cultural Acceptance of Dependency

2nd Grade Boys

No Bake Cookies

31 Cent Scoops!