07 November 2008

Track Your Shipment: A Modern-Day Torture Device UPDATED

UPDATE: My camera has safely touched down in Atlanta:
November 7, 2008 12:01:00 PM ATLANTA GA US Arrival Scan
November 7, 2008 03:16:00 AM INDIANAPOLIS IN US Departure Scan
November 7, 2008 02:35:00 AM INDIANAPOLIS IN US Arrival Scan
November 6, 2008 09:51:00 PM HODGKINS IL US Departure Scan
November 6, 2008 05:17:00 PM HODGKINS IL US Arrival Scan
November 4, 2008 12:42:00 AM SPARKS NV US Departure Scan
November 3, 2008 09:04:33 PM US Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit
November 3, 2008 07:49:00 PM SPARKS NV US Shipment received by carrier

So, what is it?



Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

I guessI deserve the cross-country tour for selecting free super-saver shipping. And yes, I do track my shipment on average about every two hours. Happy birthday to me.

Peace

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05 November 2008

Wednesday Miscellany: George Washington is Dead

Yesterday:
Five year old girl to daddy: "Why do Aarrack Obama and John McCain want to be president?"

Daddy: "Well, that is a good question. I don't know. Hopefully, they want to serve the country well."

Five year old girl: "I think it is because George Washington died and someone has to take his place."


In car from church fall festival to Aunt's house for party on Halloween:
Daddy: "Wow! Look at all of the trick-or-treaters."

Seven year old boy: "Daddy, when will we get to go trick-or-treating?"

Daddy: "We'll see."

Seven year old boy: "I hope it is soon because I am ready to see some new faces."

Five year old girl on the ferris wheel with Daddy (both for their first time):

October 2008 016cr


Notes:
The boy and girl did get to go trick-or-treating; they had a grand time. George Washington was one of the few presidents who never did want the job; William Howard Taft was another. Teddy Roosevelt reportedly offered to make him a Supreme Court justice or his chosen successor as president. Taft chose justice. Taft's wife chose president. Taft's wife won. His presidency was challenging and unsatisfactory. Years later he would live his dream as chief justice of the Supreme Court. It is not a typo: my daughter cannot say the "B" in Barack's name.

Peace
..._

29 August 2008

Homecoming Themes

My life over the next eights weeks will be taken over by planning for Homecoming '08! The exclamation point is to let you know that I am supposed to be excited about this. As student government advisor, it is my job to supervise some twenty students in the planning and production of homecoming week. That includes homecoming week festivities, homecoming pep rally, court and queen presentation at halftime on Friday, and the homecoming dance on Saturday night. Last year's homecoming almost killed me and had me questioning and cursing every aspect of the American educational establishment. There is something deeply ironic about a man who has attended only one dance in is life (and that only because it was required by the school) having responsibility for planning a dance. Last year's dance ended up a huge success, and it was a great way for me to get to know the students at my new school. True, one almost killed me when a large chunk of two-by-four kicked up from his circular saw, just missing my head, and jammed into a wooden fence twenty feet away. The dent in the fence is a daily reminder my brush with death. Later, the same student gashed his hand with a knife and left a trail of blood across the gym floor. No stitches were needed, and no lawyers were called.

This year could be fun. It will certainly be less stressful. Today my students put together the final ballot of homecoming themes for distribution on Tuesday morning. Once the student body votes on the theme, the real work will begin. I am quite proud of the creativity of this set of students; they have a deep desire to avoid ordering dance-in-box from Stumps.com while creating a unique dance atmosphere. Here is the ballot (I have deleted the school name for the usual reasons):

Homecoming ‘08
1. A Night at the Oasis: Spend an exotic evening under the stars at a Bedouin campsite; warm yourself by the fire, relax in a Bedouin tent, or whirl like a dervish on the dance floor.
2. Winter Wonderland: Winter comes early this year as snow falls on [school name]; think Narnia without the creepy goat man.
3. Bright Lights/Big City: Experience a night downtown among the lights of the towering architectural wonders of New [school name] City.
4. In the Jungle: Jaguars frolic in the undergrowth as macaws and howler monkeys screech in the canopy above; Join Expedition [school name] as they celebrate the discovery of the headwaters of Bobs Creek.
5. Welcome to Area 51: The mysteries of Roswell, NM are revealed for the first time as a UFO crash site becomes the launching pad for the rockingest party this side of Sagittarius.
I am personally hoping for #1 or #5.
Peace
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20 August 2008

Things They Don't Teach You in Teacher School: #7-10

7. Very little actual planning occurs during pre-planning. For the most part, pre-planning is designed to be such a rigorous, time-consuming week of meeting after meeting that it is a relief when the students finally show up for class.
8. Administrators will discover new and wonderful tasks for you to do each year to enhance the student experience. These tasks will be required and involve either paperwork or e-work. Administrators have all summer to think up these educational enhancements and only forty hours of pre-planning to explain them all.
9. Administrators will never discover that some tasks no longer need to be done anymore because it turns out that the tasks were wasteful and of little worth.
10. Pray for your administrator. There is a reason that there is a high rate of turnover in school administrators. They are required to juggle the competing demands of parents, teachers, the school board, and students. Teachers are typically the first ball to be dropped by administrators under pressure. Don't take it personally.

#1-3 of this list appear here.
#4-6 of this list appear here.

Peace
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19 August 2008

I Love Herman Melville

Sentences like this one make Melville one of the most beloved of assigned high school readings:

"And the thews of Billy were hardly compatible with that sort of sensitive spiritual organization which in some cases instinctively conveys to ignorant innocence an admonition of the proximity of the malign."

--Billy Budd

My school begins tomorrow. I am teaching US history, AP US history and American literature. I am, in fact, excited about this year.


Also, there is a new edition of the Carnival of Georgia Bloggers here. Read and enjoy.

Peace
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