I have a recurring donation to a political organization. Not much, but there.
Today I got an email from them, saying that they've been so successful, they need to build a larger web site -- and could I donate to that effort?
Jeez, guys....
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Yeah, But...
Watching the West Wing "Evidence of Things Not Seen" clip to deflect myself from studying French (which, after yesterday's conversation, with a man whom I'm going to visit in four months, I really need to do). Hit the part where the Will Bailey character, in his did you know he did that? I didn't know he did that! guise as an Air Force JAG officer, says that he is going to Cheyenne to investigate "two guys who refused to launch their rocket".
Forty years after I used to do it, such blatant errors in how an actual Air Force officer would refer to the incident still makes me cringe. Probably doesn't help that the whole Will Bailey character makes me cringe, anyway, but this - this, I know. They would not have said that.
If you're curious, they'd have said "two guys refused to launch", or "two guys refused to key-turn".
Forty years after I used to do it, such blatant errors in how an actual Air Force officer would refer to the incident still makes me cringe. Probably doesn't help that the whole Will Bailey character makes me cringe, anyway, but this - this, I know. They would not have said that.
If you're curious, they'd have said "two guys refused to launch", or "two guys refused to key-turn".
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Texting
Got a text from the woman whose sister killed herself a few weeks ago. She's still very torn up. I wish I could help. All I can do is listen, and offer banal comments. Still, she does 'talk' with me, which is more than she did last week -- she told me that she left her phone off all week just so she could avoid talking to people. Not me -- we've never talked on the phone -- but people she knows in France. So I guess that's something...
Mentoring
Today I went over to the school, and I had a wierd experience.
I was waiting for the mento, and listening to two other mentors talking about their kids. One said that she was concerned because the kid had a 45 in one course, and it was very hard to get up from there. Yeah, I know that feeling, I thought. The other said my kid had Ds in five of six subjects. We finally got him to the point where he only has two. At which point I thought again about what a lousy mentor I am, because I never push the kid to show me homework, anything like that.
Then, when he arrived, he said he had to go to a 'checkout' room where a teacher would confirm that he had his required work in his 'agenda book'. Only, it turned out that not only did he not have it, he'd been erasing it so that his mother would not know that he had things due. He had his usual morass of papers, and had trouble finding stuff in there. The teacher told him that he needed to work on that, and the teacher wrote his deliverables in ink so that they couldn't be erased. And I thought jeez, I never do that stuff.
Then we went to the library, where I mentioned how I found that very interesting and more than a little disturbing - whereupon he said that there was a math problem he didn't understand, so we looked at it. I asked if he had an example of how to do it, and he showed me one he had written. It was wrong. It took me 30 minutes to figure out how to do it, and I didn't explain it very well.
So I think: I suck at being a mentor. I really do.
I was waiting for the mento, and listening to two other mentors talking about their kids. One said that she was concerned because the kid had a 45 in one course, and it was very hard to get up from there. Yeah, I know that feeling, I thought. The other said my kid had Ds in five of six subjects. We finally got him to the point where he only has two. At which point I thought again about what a lousy mentor I am, because I never push the kid to show me homework, anything like that.
Then, when he arrived, he said he had to go to a 'checkout' room where a teacher would confirm that he had his required work in his 'agenda book'. Only, it turned out that not only did he not have it, he'd been erasing it so that his mother would not know that he had things due. He had his usual morass of papers, and had trouble finding stuff in there. The teacher told him that he needed to work on that, and the teacher wrote his deliverables in ink so that they couldn't be erased. And I thought jeez, I never do that stuff.
Then we went to the library, where I mentioned how I found that very interesting and more than a little disturbing - whereupon he said that there was a math problem he didn't understand, so we looked at it. I asked if he had an example of how to do it, and he showed me one he had written. It was wrong. It took me 30 minutes to figure out how to do it, and I didn't explain it very well.
So I think: I suck at being a mentor. I really do.
Extrication
So how would you get it out? I'm thinking the guard rail has to go, but what then? Crane, lift onto the road?
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Comments
Soooo... did that person mean to write Vous avez progresser en Francais, or Vous avez progressé en Francais?
Probs the first, but I choose the second.
Probs the first, but I choose the second.
Speaking
Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night with the thought I can't possibly go to another country, one where they don't speak English, and expect that it'll be OK.
And then I thought I've spent 2 1/2 years studying French. I can make myself understood. Not grammatically, not fluently, not gracefully, but I can do it.
And, French is certainly the language there, but the major transport media -- Air France and the TGV -- use English, too. Perhaps not as often, but for the big stuff, yes. This isn't going to be like going to Africa with Livingston.
And, I'm going to meet people who DO speak English - one of them speaks it quite well, and the other - well, he can get by. So if I ABSOLUTELY need to say something in English, there's a decent chance of being understood. And there's always the dictionary.
Still nervous, but yeah, I think this might actually come off.
Although I think I made my wife nervous when I mentioned that if this does work, I'll be more secure about speaking French on the next trip.
And then I thought I've spent 2 1/2 years studying French. I can make myself understood. Not grammatically, not fluently, not gracefully, but I can do it.
And, French is certainly the language there, but the major transport media -- Air France and the TGV -- use English, too. Perhaps not as often, but for the big stuff, yes. This isn't going to be like going to Africa with Livingston.
And, I'm going to meet people who DO speak English - one of them speaks it quite well, and the other - well, he can get by. So if I ABSOLUTELY need to say something in English, there's a decent chance of being understood. And there's always the dictionary.
Still nervous, but yeah, I think this might actually come off.
Although I think I made my wife nervous when I mentioned that if this does work, I'll be more secure about speaking French on the next trip.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Zay Smith
News Headline: “Democrats shelve assault weapons ban.”
QT Abridged Too Far Dictionary of the English Language:shelve verb 1. to not take action on something until a later time. 2. if ever. 3. to shy away from. 4. to hide out from. 5. to show complete lack of spine concerning. 6. but hardly unexpected [see: streak, yellow; knees, weak; bananas, could carve better public servants out of. ]
QT Abridged Too Far Dictionary of the English Language:shelve verb 1. to not take action on something until a later time. 2. if ever. 3. to shy away from. 4. to hide out from. 5. to show complete lack of spine concerning. 6. but hardly unexpected [see: streak, yellow; knees, weak; bananas, could carve better public servants out of. ]
Image
I watched this way too many times.
I'm convinced that she's doing a Roadrunner impression.....
I'm convinced that she's doing a Roadrunner impression.....
Dreaming
Strange dreams last night. Dreamed about the gutless cowards of the US Congress, who can't even be moved by the deaths of children. Wondered how'd they'd feel if an assassin with a high-capacity ammunition holder started slaughtering them. Won't happen - probably - because the defenders of liberty make damn sure to encircle themselves with armed guards. I'd like to see Obama giving a speech tearing them a collective new anal aperture for their craven style, but that's not likely to happen, either.
I used to think that adults used reason and compassion to rule the country, but I don't think that anymore. Sometimes I despair about the parth of our country. We seem to be on a downward spiral. I know, thats traditional for people as they get older, to think that, but still: I do, I really do.
Dreamed about drones. Those things - the small ones - are just made for assassinations. Air Force One lands, President's on his way down the steps - a drone whips in from a mile away. Are we doing anything to figure out how to defend against this? Of course not. We'll wait for a disaster...or past.
Dreamed about the trip to France. One of the people I will meet has a husband who speaks no English at all; the other has a wife who speaks just a little bit. Apprehensive about this. Not to mention, the TGV trips. Est-ce que c'est ma voiture? Just hope I don't get on the one for Croatia instead of Paris.
At least I didn't dream about the sequestration, aka the death of a thousand cuts.
I used to think that adults used reason and compassion to rule the country, but I don't think that anymore. Sometimes I despair about the parth of our country. We seem to be on a downward spiral. I know, thats traditional for people as they get older, to think that, but still: I do, I really do.
Dreamed about drones. Those things - the small ones - are just made for assassinations. Air Force One lands, President's on his way down the steps - a drone whips in from a mile away. Are we doing anything to figure out how to defend against this? Of course not. We'll wait for a disaster...or past.
Dreamed about the trip to France. One of the people I will meet has a husband who speaks no English at all; the other has a wife who speaks just a little bit. Apprehensive about this. Not to mention, the TGV trips. Est-ce que c'est ma voiture? Just hope I don't get on the one for Croatia instead of Paris.
At least I didn't dream about the sequestration, aka the death of a thousand cuts.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
GUNS
Senate Democrats are dropping the ban on assault weapons. Those spineless, gutless ... yeah, I deleted that last word. But I'm still thinking it.....
Writing
It takes talent to write a decent science fiction novel, as John Scalzi did with Old Man's War.
It takes more talent to write sequels that not only don't suck, but are actually better, as he did with The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony.
But when you can take the whole plot of one of those books, and write it again, from the viewpoint of one of the secondary characters...and it doesn't entirely suck.... as he did with Zoe's Tale...well... I think I need a word that means talent....and then some.
It takes more talent to write sequels that not only don't suck, but are actually better, as he did with The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony.
But when you can take the whole plot of one of those books, and write it again, from the viewpoint of one of the secondary characters...and it doesn't entirely suck.... as he did with Zoe's Tale...well... I think I need a word that means talent....and then some.
Cookies
People make a big deal about Girl Scout Cookies. They are OK, and I wolf down my fair share! But you know what? You can have those evershrinking GS ones. Give me some homemade chocolate chips, and some Ritz crackers - maybe some Saltines - and I'm happy.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Taxes and Census and Such
There was a line in one of the West Wing episodes where one character invites another to go out to a bar with him. "We'll speak as men do", he says. That line stuck with me - it sounds like it was cribbed from Shakespeare. I started wondering about it while I was lying in bed this morning. Normally, I'd look it up on the laptop in the kitchen while the coffee was brewing - orange flavored coffee; heavenly scent - and the sausage was cooking -- sizzle, sizzle -- and maybe the waffles were baking or the French toast was frenching. But this morning I'm not allowed to eat anything because I'm going to have a spot of dental surgery, and they said now remember, don't eat or drink anything after midnight. The fact that other surgeries have been at 8AM, and this one is at 10:30 doesn't change their prescription. Well, I thought, I'm going to stay up really late - by my standards - and I'll sleep until it's time to leave, and I won't have time to get hungry.
Which plan worked until I heard my wife get up at 7AM to check if the weather forecast -- rain and snow - was valid. (The roads are dry, but maybe later?) Ahem.
So, knowing that going out to the kitchen right that moment was a bad idea, I fired up the small tablet (really, too small to write on; you go into email, and you can see one line of what you're writing, and sometimes not even that. On the other hand, it does contribute to brevity in communications. And the size is dandy for watching videos and bouncing through sites with StumbleUpon) and did a search for that phrase. Didn't find any Shakespearean references, but I did find a site called WestWingTranscripts. Whereupon, like the WW junkie I am, I then scrolled through the whole script for that episode, smiling as I encountered phrases I remembered, scowling just a bit when the phrases weren't exactly as I remembered them. But, overall, pleased. It's a dandy episode, with references to why a statistical polling method for the census is both better than headcount and unconstitutional. Not to mention a succinct statement of the differences between Democrats and Republicans when faced by a budget surplus. Nice.
Then I went out, grabbed the laptop from its normal resting place on the kitchen table, and sprinted back into the bedroom.
Which plan worked until I heard my wife get up at 7AM to check if the weather forecast -- rain and snow - was valid. (The roads are dry, but maybe later?) Ahem.
So, knowing that going out to the kitchen right that moment was a bad idea, I fired up the small tablet (really, too small to write on; you go into email, and you can see one line of what you're writing, and sometimes not even that. On the other hand, it does contribute to brevity in communications. And the size is dandy for watching videos and bouncing through sites with StumbleUpon) and did a search for that phrase. Didn't find any Shakespearean references, but I did find a site called WestWingTranscripts. Whereupon, like the WW junkie I am, I then scrolled through the whole script for that episode, smiling as I encountered phrases I remembered, scowling just a bit when the phrases weren't exactly as I remembered them. But, overall, pleased. It's a dandy episode, with references to why a statistical polling method for the census is both better than headcount and unconstitutional. Not to mention a succinct statement of the differences between Democrats and Republicans when faced by a budget surplus. Nice.
Then I went out, grabbed the laptop from its normal resting place on the kitchen table, and sprinted back into the bedroom.
Fire
A relative had a horrific fire, lost almost everything. Someone set up a PayPal account, and people have been generous. Good. Did bug me a little when I noticed that instead of thanking the people who've donated, she thanked 'God working through them', but I guess that's part of being religious. The important thing is that they're getting help at a time when they desperately need it.
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