And now for something totally irrelevent- The Witcher RPG
The Witcher--- A Game for the Seriously Recluse
Yep, I have spent the whole summer engrossed in a game.
This is the first time that has happened for me.
The game is wonderful. The action is swift (tho, not on my machine)
There are plots and subplots--enough to keep anyone busy for 200+ hours.
The game has Sex, political intrigue, monsters, wacky religions, drugs, and plenty of mercantile
fun. The character earns money through fist fighting and poker, or through drinking contests.
It is expected that the main character will loot every house in order to finance his needs.
There are three options for the main quest, follow the left, the right , or remain neutral.
Each choice influences the remaining path of the game.
Does this not sound exactly like The rest of life?
Did I mention there is very little linear direction in the game. No one "tells" you what the next thing to do is. Just like life.
Oh, and the main character is such a good looking one.
game players may want to double check that their system can handle this game, as it takes huge amounts of power and a fairly new system to run the game. My recommendation:
8/10 for execution
9/10 for story development
6/10 for technical geek factor
10/10 for forum support
overall a solid 9/10 for being a great game. It has won over 90 awards in the gaming / geek community. Worth checkin it out!
Thanks Luke!
For those who may have missed it, Chica has saved the day by getting this community back up. I really appreciate her work!
My sister Treasa stayed up all night last night making copies of both our blogs on both computers. She is a treasure!
soap box warning:
1. Now we will all be treated to the inevitable grumbling from those who just cannot graciously be thankful and who feel inclined to make petty jabs at those who may not have done all that they feel should have been done in this last crisis. This is a blog community- that means that people with a certain amount of narcissism feel entitled to complain about the world and let others know their minds on every subject (yes, I will admit that I have the narcissism problem to a certain degree as well) Let the mud start flying and don't forget to duck!
Party favors are on the table near the door for those who are deserting.
2. There is no such thing as a bug- free system. Every blog exists only as long as the system remains stable. Big does not mean stable. Notoriety does not guarantee stability. Look at the universe in it's natural state and you will see there is always a tendency for decay and chaos. Learn to live with it. This chaotic part of nature is a good thing. It has a cleansing quality that makes room for change and creates an appreciation for the beauty of what is now. It also creates regret and fear of loss. It depends on how one views the world, half full/half empty, blah, blah, blah. Perhaps what is needed is a Plan B- where we all learn to make back-ups so we can have continuity on other online blog sites.
3. Thanks for those who made the effort to keep us all in contact over the crisis over at Vox. That was a stroke of brilliance. It shows that many do care about others and that we have a strong community.
4. Has anyone who is complaining stopped to think that maybe there is a problem with the Big guy? Have we forgotten that there are fires, floods, natural disasters and minor but impactful problems in all of our lives? we have no way to know what is going on that Kieth cannot be reached. Let us hope that nothing unkind has happened to him or his family.
I am probably going to make sure I cross post from now on, but blogging isn't my main thing. My main thing is seeing what all of you all are thinking and doing. I am not jumping ship until the thing is completely undone by chaos. We will see what this chaotic event makes possible in the near future, I am sure.
I have been reading his blog a lot lately. He has some interesting ideas, but I don't think a post this long belongs in his blog. I hope I am not committing some kind of hi-jacking sin by posting it here, but I really have a lot to say about the issue.
First, there is some ambiguity about who is an enemy combatant, or what specifically defines someone as such. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_combatants included for your convenience ).
• ^ Detention of Enemy Combatants Act (Introduced in House) 109th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 March 3, 2005
(8) The term 'enemy combatant' has historically referred to all of the citizens of a state with which the Nation is at war, and who are members of the armed force of that enemy state. Enemy combatants in the present conflict, however, come from many nations, wear no uniforms, and use unconventional weapons. Enemy combatants in the war on terrorism are not defined by simple, readily apparent criteria, such as citizenship or military uniform. And the power to name a citizen as an 'enemy combatant' is therefore extraordinarily broad. (Emphasis added)
• ^ The current United States Department of Defense definition is "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war."(source DOD dictionary enemy combatant)
and:
Change of meaning in the United States In the 1942 Supreme Court of the United States ruling Ex Parte Quirin the court uses the terms with their historical meanings to distinguish between unlawful combatants and lawful combatants:
Unlawful combatants are likewise subject to capture and detention, but in addition they are subject to trial and punishment by military tribunals for acts which render their belligerency unlawful. The spy who secretly and without uniform passes the military lines of a belligerent in time of war, seeking to gather military information and communicate it to the enemy, or an enemy combatant who without uniform comes secretly through the lines for the purpose of waging war by destruction of life or property, are familiar examples of belligerents who are generally deemed not to be entitled to the status of prisoners of war, but to be offenders against the law of war subject to trial and punishment by military tribunals.(Emphasis added)
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks the United States Congress passed a resolution known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF) on September 18, 2001[4], wherein the Congress invoked the War Powers Resolution. Using this authorization granted to him by Congress, on November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a Presidential Military Order: "Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism"[5]. The administration chose to call those who it detained under the Presidential Military Orders "enemy combatants". Since then the administration has formalized its usage of enemy combatant by using the term specifically for detained alleged members and supporters of al Qaida or the Taliban. For example
Under the provisions of the Secretary of the Navy Memorandum Implementation of Combatant Status Review Tribunal Procedures for Enemy Combatant Detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Cuba ... An enemy combatant has been defined as "an individual who was part of or supporting the Taliban or al Qaida forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners. This includes any person who committed a belligerent act or has directly supported hostilities in aid of enemy armed forces." [6]
This lead has been followed by other parts of the Government and some section of the American news media. The result of this new usage means that the term "enemy combatant" has to be read in the context of the article in which it appears as to whether it means a member of the armed forces of an enemy state, or if it means an alleged member of al Qaida held prisoner by the United States.
More recently the United States government has passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which contains a definitions for lawful and unlawful enemy combatants.
But notice the "subject to trial by military tribunals" part. This makes the Supreme Court decision iffy in my book. I see nothing there that gives the detainees the right to a court trial or the rights to have charges outlined in a regular court. These people are not POWs. They are detainees. They are being held for the purpose of getting information and for keeping them from creating more problems in the conflict area.
Second: How is this any different from the internment camps we had in the last world war, which was full of our own people just because they had a certain ancestry? Clearly, the government we have is capable of making huge errors each time the security and peace becomes threatened. It is nothing new for the US to leap and then look after they have landed in the poo. Those who are being held at Guantanamo may be enemy agents, or they may be people with a difference of opinion about religion and social order.
Third: why are we holding them in Cuba? Aren't we 'against' Cuba? I could have sworn there is something about Cuba that we don't like…. Wasn't it communism? Isn't that the reason that so many people fled Cuba and why they now cannot go back to see their family members? The base at Guantanamo is ours because of an indefinite lease we gained back in 1902. The base is a result of the Spanish-American War from back in 1898. Cuba maintains that the US base is an unauthorized occupational force on its soil. But we have a signed piece of paper ( the Treaty of Paris that was not nullified by the Vienna Convention of 1969) that gives us the right to do what we want there… It's how we got control over Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. Once again, the US has asserted that "some countries" cannot handle their own affairs without our direct influence. Sounds like we have a superiority complex about some issues if you ask me. The same concepts we had in 1898 are the exact same ideas we are pushing with the current situation in the Middle East.What a mess!
Obama's education plan scares me. One answer to one question:
I told Eclectablog that I would be looking into Obama's proposals with a skeptic eye.
I am reading the plan from Obama's site. It is a PDF that outlines his plan for education pre-K – 12.
I have questions about how he is planning to execute the plan. I see that he proposes adding more funds for pre- K and early childhood education, more access for the poor to the childcare tax credit, funding for NCLB (which I would rather see completely tossed!)" Barack Obama will expand evidence-based home
visiting programs to all low-income, first-time mothers." Is at the top of page 5. My question is why do low-income mothers need to have their homes invaded? Civil liberties, anyone? Next section is part three- teacher training and retention:" Barack Obama will create substantial, sustained Teaching
Service Scholarships that completely cover training costs in high-quality teacher preparation or
alternative certification programs at the undergraduate or graduate level for those who are
willing to teach in a high-need field or location for at least four years." This sounds unachievable to me. It seems like joining the military, but for teachers. Reading further, the goals for teacher certification are just plain invasive and use way too much government involvement. You see, for me it seems like the old Democratic ideal that they are more qualified to run our lives than we are. I do not agree that government needs to legislate every minuscule operation in the classroom, or in my home.
"Teacher preparation programs will be further strengthened if they are guided by a high-quality,
nationally-available teacher performance assessment that measures actual teaching skill in
content areas. Barack Obama will fund the development of such an assessment, which, unlike
current examinations used for licensing, will do more than merely measure basic skills and
subject matter knowledge via paper-and-pencil tests. It will collect evidence about how
prospective teachers plan and teach in the classroom, evaluate student work, and adapt their
teaching to student learning needs." He plans that all teachers would become cookie-cutter copies of each other and that we all would teach "the approved method." Big Brother? China? Not America!
I agree we need to have better retention of new teachers, but many are lost due to life-style changes like having children of their own, or divorce or what have you. Others find they cannot stand the job. Do we want to retain those teachers? I think not. The next section talks about retention of students, starting with identifying those in the middle grades most likely to become drop-outs. This critical area means a lot to me since my area has a 60.5% Graduation rate. Our students leave school w/out graduating in droves! It would be great if our students could learn to appreciate education and the possibilities it offers, but the reality is that unskilled labor that pays great and drug trafficking are a huge part of the problem here. Yea, that's a local issue, but is an issue I have to deal with in my daily life.
In the end, we need to know where the money for all of this will come from. The answer is found at the end of the document and it is not satisfactory to me.
"IX. A COMMITMENT TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Barack Obama’s early education and K-12 plan package costs about $18 billion per year. He will
maintain fiscal responsibility and prevent any increase in the deficit by offsetting cuts and revenue
sources in other parts of the government. The early education plan will be paid for by delaying the
NASA Constellation Program for five years, using purchase cards and the negotiating power of the
government to reduce costs of standardized procurement, auctioning surplus federal property, and
reducing the erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office, and closing the
CEO pay deductibility loophole. The rest of the plan will be funded using a small portion of the savings
associated with fighting the war in Iraq."
Why sponsor more science in the schools and then steal the money from the space program? The money coming from the war effort is money we already cannot afford, so it is a non-issue to 'divert' the money into education. What other parts of the government can we afford to not have so that this one issue can be solved in this manner? This doesn't work, and it would have a hell of a time passing in congress with all of the special interest groups that would be affected by this plan.
Finished the fifteenth hour of my Master's coursework. Yea!
Only two twenty page reports and a totally useless piece of
graduate level survey work for health issues in the local middle schools.
I discovered the joys of having a program that knows the APA style of citation.
I am feeling that there is no real challenge in academic endeavor. It is all under-water-basket-weaving and hoop-jumping.
This is worth a few thousand more in a professional position??? What about learning something useful?
Miss you guys, maybe I will have more time soon to spend in the blogs. Be well.
Yes, that's right I have been looking for a job as a teacher in texas for a year this week. Results: seven interviews out of 200 resumes and one job fair.
What? someone said we need content teachers? in Texas? Could you be a little more specific? because I have to stay in this county since the divorce papers require my child to live in this county. Could someone please tell me why I have to keep looking when I am five times " expertly qualified" in science, three times in Social studies and Three times in English? Is it my lack of Spanish speaking abilities? Call it a handicap and hire me you idiots! I promise I am not over qualified to baby- sit:rolleyes:/ educate your little seventh graders and I will not get bored and move on in two years. Proof of that is the fact that I have done my current job for over 15 years.
Dear e- friends: Pray for a miracle. The student loans are gonna be due soon.
Computer woes (Geeky responses and commisserations welcome)
All I wanted was to play a few older games on the break and have my blog and such. I had intentions of doing a project for a friend, but the universe conspired against me. Last week , I spent all day Monday and all day Wednesday on the phone with the manufacturer, trying to squeak out a little more performance from the integrated graphics card. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) was making game play a misery. Now, I wasn't trying to play anything extravagant like BioShock or any one of last year's games. I was playing a game that is almost ten years old. I have a fairly new computer, two years old, hyper-threaded and Pentium 4 and plenty of RAM And HD space. I even have a spare 360 Gig external drive for keeping my "C" drive clutter free.
After finally giving in and purchasing a new Nvidia Graphics card,the install did not go smoothly, other critters came out of gremlin-ville and programs that have always worked are now in a bad mood.
Spent all of Thursday in phone conference with new tech support person. we did a soft reinstall of Windows to clear out the bugs, but that took hours. Still , I spent five hours hand transferring files to the external drive just to make sure that if calamity struck, I'd have a way to re-start all of that hard work I have done over the last several years.
So Now I have a computer that doesn't recognize half of the externals and will not play nice with itself! Along the way, I discovered that my printer is on the fritz, too. I love this printer! I don't want a new fangled version.I don't need a two- inch view of what I'm printing. I just need a reliable printer scanner.
Whaah whaah whaah!
Her true love died at 3:25 pm central today. She gave her permission to update you all last night. She wants all of you to know that she has felt the effect of all of us holding her in our hearts and that it has helped quite a lot.
Last night, he was showing signs that the end was about to come. His breath was ragged or raspy and some signs of dehydration were there. She decided to follow his wishes and not let the nurses do anything that would involve tubes and wires. She has been by his side for the last day and a half and was able to keep her promise to be near when the end came.
Last night, when I was on the phone he was clear of mind enough to wave a hello, so she was thankful for that. He slipped quietly in the afternoon today. She is sort of still in shock and is having to coordinate the final arrangements. She will go home tonight. She is selectively taking phone calls, but don't be surprised if the line is busy.
She thanks everyone for all of their support.
BTW: The Entlebucher Sennenhund (the dogs they bred for the last 10 years or so) were just yesterday accepted into the AKC as a working dog/ herding group dog. This is something that her husband had been working for and he was coherent enough to know about it before his demise. He will be getting the credit in the dog journals for this monumental achievement. His dream was to see the Entlies at the Westminster Dog show, and now they can go! Good Job!
[/FONT]
Still don't know much...Lady Visine has not talked to me today, so I must guess that things have not gone all the way to the bottom yet. However, there has been some bad outcomes and even if this turns out to be a false cry out from me, I would rather be wrong than not keep you all updated.
I do not have many particulars, but I can tell you all that I have been holding her and her Dear One in my heart all day today. I will continue until something happens one way or the other. I do know that right now, things are not looking good, and since many of us have been touched by her and their story, I am providing an opportunity for all of you to know what I know, no matter how non-specific that may be. This is the season of love and renewal and I hope that the warm feelings we all have can be transmitted to them in some fashion.
Remembering Veteran’s Day, Sis!
Thanks for all those who served in the wars our country fought. Because of their sacrifice, I was able to go to see many of these folks, live! Freedom of speech… priceless.(even Vanilla Ice and the Divinyls)
Maybe this will be a good thing to remember from those years:
I'm Keeping this because someone will need it sooner or later. If you need it just copy and paste:)
Attention Blog User:
There has been a recent outbreak of spam that is sneaking past our spam filters and using the Post Trackback feature. This feature, if enabled on your posts, will allow spam to get in and post comments - those of which no one wants.
Since Keith is currently offline and not available, us Community Leaders have taken it upon us to find a temporary solution until Keith can do something.
and make sure "Trackback Default for New Entries" is set to 'Trackbacks Disabled' in the drop-down menu and also, "Autodetect Trackbacks?" is set to 'Autodetect Disabled' in the drop-down menu.
This will disable trackback on all new posts you make.
*** If you are apart of multiple blogs, you will need to select specific blog in which the problem is first in the blog control panel.... and then click that link for the settings to appear. ***
For previous posts that have been attacked you must Edit that post and just below the Post Edit Box you should see a link "Advanced Post Options" - click that and you should see an option for "Allow Trackbacks?" and make sure it is set to 'No.'
The first thing you should know is that I have not had a lot of experience with special ed.
I have spent the last couple of weeks in a longer term assignment as a substitute. It is in a high school and the kids are huge and very un-able. They are sever/profound disabled kids. some are smart but have limited mobility, others operate at a 3 year old level. they all have anger and frustration issues, come
from the state school and some are in occupational training half days.
There are seven or eight kids in the class. Some of them float in and out because they have no permanent classroom assignment.
Their paras (aides) and regular teacher like them to be separated. The paras are
convinced that these kids cannot DO anything. The school special ed
person wants them all to do life skills and writing and math.
I can come up with ideas to fill the time, but I am not spec. ed.
trained. I lived with a child with Cerebral palsy for a few years, and I
have seen mental retardation, spina bifida, Down's syndrome,Turett's and other conditions when I was working toward a genetics degree. I know that none of these kids are at the same developmental level, so the group idea is difficult.
All of them have lots to overcome.
So, basically, at any given moment, one of these kids could become angry
and really destroy something. Self-control is pretty much out the
window, here. They are on meds, but I can sure tell when they wear off. The regular teacher is out because he hurt his back restraining one of them.
For the first two days, I learned the routine and how the kids react to various kinds of stimuli. One was a young man of 18 who has one of the autisms He sleeps in the morning and literally jumps all afternoon. He is over six feet tall and only communicates using one word utterances. Today, he talked to me and held my hand. It was great! he followed instructions and even made a joke. He also ran away to see if i could catch him. he raided the refrigerator in the teachers lounge before i found him.Man, he was quick! I got him back to class( downstairs) by promising to share my coke with him. Yes, I did. I don't break my promises. The aides are afraid of him. he can bite and resists being handled by them. i found that if he is invited to join in then he is much more responsive. We even got to go outside! I have been told that he will never behave for them to be able to do this. the whole class is sequestered because of fear. I refused to let that be the case. These kids need to learn to live in the world, so let's be in the world! dammit! we have a hospital across the street, there are lots of real world things to learn about- traffic signs and such. They need this kind of teaching. It's right in the front yard!
In the last few days:
I got them back into the routine of doing papers and art and math everyday while i was there. i made the aids do their jobs. I wrote copious notes about behaviors and aptitudes so that other aids and substitutes can help them. We were starting to get a routine that worked for all of us. Progress was happening. One of the other kids actually taught me a thing or two about the computer and how to get music into a file. I got the special ed coordinator on campus to give me some guidance for the lesson plans. We had no lesson plans the first week. I was told that the teacher wouldn't be back for a long time, so i was willing to take charge and run with it.
But it is not to be. The regular teacher has decided to come back tomorrow. I didn't even get to say good bye to them. They think I will be there in the morning. I feel so bad for everyone involved.
Sever/Profound isn't my first choice, but These kids would make you try.
Well, this may not be the most up-lifting post I ever make, but I'm gonna do it anyway:
First I have been lurking at various sites/communities for quite a few years now, and I have noticed that all of them have a Great Falling Out sometime between September and February every year. I don't know the exact reason, but I do know that somehow, the members seem to get more stressed out and then peripheral members feel they need to choose sides on a given argument. It is all over the internet every year. It seems to coincide with the holidays/finals/mass bird and other pet die-off that also happens at this part of the year. Grand parents go more at this part of the year, too. It's really upsetting.
It makes me wonder if the shopping and finals and losing loved ones creates more stress than people are supposed to be able to handle.
My point is that I am expecting to have a few people become less open to opinions and more susceptible to argument in the coming weeks. Some will lose loved pets and some will stress out over holiday purchases and visits. Most of us will get at least a little head cold and many of us will gain a few more pounds. This might make us a bit cranky, so the blog may just become an important release valve so that we don't explode at holiday functions.
I vote we all breathe before we make any big decisions. We will all get through all of the problems and our friends here will be supportive-just because we like each other and value each other.
On another topic:
I am still looking for a teaching position. Those of you who think a greater power can help: would you plead my case? This substituting limbo I am in is fine and I am learning a lot but I really need a classroom of my own.{preferably, with a contract:D}
I am hoping that the mid-winter weirdness will open a classroom for me, because teachers do quit in the mid winter break.
I went to a job fair last Friday, and I got 6 interviews. Those were the first interviews I have had in the ten months that I have been looking for a position. Four of the principals were suitably impressed, two were just going through the motions. I have to think there is a classroom out there somewhere...I have to wonder if i am just not doing this right. Job hunting is such a pain. Some of the school districts don't even list specific jobs. They just put us in a pool for the principals to pick through. It's a crazy system.
My classes are going fine.They are ever so unchallenging. Snooze/ Yawn!
I have been subbing in the special ed unit of a specific elementary school and OOh I love those classes. They are so much more intensive than the regular ed classes that I have been in.
Happy Halloween everyone!
thanks for stopping by.
Posted: 8:43 AM, Wednesday, October 31, 2007 in Just life
I just returned from taking my cat to the animal shelter to be put down.
Let me tell you about her:
She was 3-5 years old when I adopted her in 1993 from the humane society. I had gone to the shelter looking for a kitten, but she screamed at me and 'told' me to get her out of there. She was a seal-point Siamese.I didn't really want a Siamese but she was insistent. I don't know why, but I named her Siam-Suez, but she never came to that-she only answered to Miss Kitty.
When I got her, she was pregnant. The humane society said i could have her abort and get neutered or just bring her back and pick another cat. I felt that both of these choices were crummy. I kept her just the way she was.I think she knew that. Even though our relationship was new,only weeks old in fact, she waited until I got home from class and work to have her kittens. She actually climbed into my lap and put her paw on my chin and looked at me meaningfully and squeeked. I figured it was her time.(yes- that was a pretty good 2x4 to the forehead wasn't it) She had a beautiful litter of 3 kittens that were adopted by a friend of the family after she had weaned them. Then she got spayed.
Siam was the most cross-eyed cat i ever saw. they were the crystal ice blue kind that Siamese are famous for. She loved to ride in the car late at night to go to Taco Bell. She would fight you for a taco with hot sauce. We went several times a month. She hated cat carriers and prefered to sit in the seat, but I didn't let her get away with this very often. She would also fight you for Nacho cheese Doritos and whined incessantly for milk. We all have our vices.
She was a wonderful cat for all of those years. I have expected her to go for the last four years. She had been in really good health until about 10 days ago, she started loosing wight. Now, she was always a slim little thing. She never did weigh much more than 8 pounds. But the last few days, she lost down to about 3 pounds. She became stiff and unable to eat or drink. Dementia set in. I just had to let her go. She was faithful and tolerant of all of the other animals. She liked the bigger dogs more than the little ones. She only ever got bent out of shape over the new kittens when they came, and I think that was so they'd know she was the queen.
Long live queen Siam! God rest our Queen! The coronation of Queen Ramoth (Cali)
will take place later this evening. October 20, 2007
Posted: 5:58 PM, Saturday, October 20, 2007 in Just life
How would I look as a ex-husband killing ax murderer? Yes that is what I want to be for Halloween this year.
Breathe 1... 2... 3 ...
No I will not let his crappy attitude affect my great attitude.
I will ignore his random acts of inconsiderateness and just do what I know is right
Vent
vent
vent
Breathe
this isn't going as good as I want it to go.
Breathe
happy Karma place ... not the seventh level of hell... happy karma place...
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]I substituted in a middle school yesterday. It was a self-contained BIC class.(Behaviorally challenged kids) 8th grade.
two things:
1. the oldest kid in there was the spitting image of my first husband at that age. It was really strange. He had the same eyes, nose, arms, wrists, fingers. Except for the dark hair, he could have been a clone. Now, I have dark hair. All I could thing of most of the day was... this is what our kid would have looked like(maybe,if we had had any)
He was a wonderful kid,too. not my idea of a behavior problem at all. He was bright and had a quirky sense of humor.
2. there were only four kids in this class and
Not one of them did anything that was the wrong thing to do. Not once.all day.
They were much better behaved than the regular ed kids that I usually spend the day teaching. :confused:
I am finding that I enjoy the special ed kids and the GT kids far more than the regular ed kids. Am I just attracted to abnormality? I hope so. Normal is sooo bland. Of course, it could be that I don't really think there is such a thing as regular kids. they are all special/strange - each in a different way.
I wanna be like DeeJay when I get a contract![/COLOR]
washed laundry
did dishes
took kidlet to school
did homework
drank coffee
paid rent
looked for job opening in the various school districts(no luck)
made some calls(grandmother, school districts, one I can't remember)
before 11:00 am
Got called in to Sub in a science class(finally!)
taught class
taught next class
taught last class( they were rowdy)
Now it's 3:00
hurry home
change shoes
open mail
got paycheck
make call about direct deposit
go to my class
listen to an endless 4 hour lecture
drive home
have dinner( first food today)( really good, Sis!)
take a shower
check e-mail
send e-mail
write post
get in bed and do it again tomorrow(yea!)
Someone please explain to me why Al Gore is getting the Peace Prize!
IF one really looks at most of his arguments, there is a certain amount of inaccuracy in them. His ideas scare me to death. not because of the end of the world, but because the American public is so unconscious that they will believe anything if it comes from someone supposedly famous.
You would think that the Nobel people would be pickier than this. what a black eye for scientists everywhere! What happened to standards of proof? Can we really say that Al Gore did more to raise concern for global warming than any other person? Well, yes, we could say that, but his methods are so questionable.
I have trouble believing the oceans will rise 20 feet. Have you seen what has to happen for that to occur?
I have trouble with his take on Katrina.Katrina was not a disaster the morning after she hit. It was a number of hours later, when the man-made water retention system failed that the real disaster occurred. I remember being very elated the morning after Katrina and devastated by evening.Katrina had nothing to do with global warming! It had everything to do with short-sighted government and a marginal economy in the area.Governments around the country have been doing the same thing for a number of decades with bridges and roads and train overpass bridges. It seems if it costs money to maintain then of course, it can wait another year or two (or twenty).
I do understand that global warming is an issue worthy of consideration. I am worried about ecosystems and maintaining a low ecologic impact. Recycle-by all means. Treat the earth like it's the only one we have! Yes,because it is! I want species to survive. I want to show the next few generations how we can save polar bears, fish, dolphins, microbia,the rain forest,etc It is important!
But I cannot condone using inaccurate information and then getting rewarded for it.
Do I hear the sound of a sensationalist? From the cooler heads website:http://www.globalwarming.org/primer/publicdebateFAQs
Public Debate FAQs
Is the world in danger of plunging into a new ice age, as in the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow?
* No. The scenario presented in The Day After Tomorrowis physically impossible. While research does suggest that the Gulf Stream has switched on and off in the past, causing temperature drops in Europe, oceanographers are convinced that global warming does not present any such danger.
Is the world in severe danger from sea level rise?
* No. Research from Nils-Axel Mörner, professor of paleogeophysics and geodynamics at Stockholm University, demonstrates that current sea levels are within the range of sea level oscillation over the past 300 years, while the satellite data show virtually no rise over the past decade. The IPCC foresees sea-level rise of between 0.1 and 0.9 meters by 2100. The Earth experienced a sea-level rise of 0.2 meters over the past century with no noticeable ill effects.
Another study relevant to this controversy is Zwally et al. (2005), which examined changes in ice mass "from elevation changes derived from 10.5 years (Greenland) and 9 years (Antarctica) of satellite radar altimetry data from the European Remote-sensing Satellites ERS-1 and -2." The researchers report a net contribution of the three ice sheets to sea level of +0.05 ± 0.03 millimeters per year. CO2Science.Org puts this in perspective: "At the current sea-level-equivalent ice-loss rate of 0.05 millimeters per year, it would take a fullmillennium to raise global sea level by just 5 cm, and it would take fully 20,000 years to raise it a single meter."
Weren’t recent extreme weather events caused by global warming?
* There is no provable link between weather events like Hurricane Katrina and global warming. For example, research by German scientists has demonstrated that the devastating floods in central Europe in 2002 were perfectly normal events when compared against the historical record. Allegations that extreme weather has been more damaging recently do not take into account the fact that mankind is now living and investing resources in more dangerous areas. Moreover, the World Meteorological Organization has acknowledged that increases in the recorded number of extreme weather events may be due to better observation and reporting. A top expert from the IPCC resigned in January 2005 in protest that IPCC science was being misrepresented by claims that last year’s hurricane season was exacerbated by global warming. Most hurricane scientists agree that there is no way that Hurricane Katrina can be blamed on global warming.
* Recent published research casts extreme doubt on the influence of warming on hurricanes. Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University finds that, "The data indicate a large increasing trend in tropical cyclone intensity and longevity for the North Atlantic basin and a considerable decreasing trend for the Northeast Pacific. All other basins showed small trends, and there has been no significant change in global net tropical cyclone activity. There has been a small increase in global Category 4-5 hurricanes from the period 1986-1995 to the period 1996-2005. Most of this increase is likely due to improved observational technology. These findings indicate that other important factors govern intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones besides SSTs [sea surface temperatures]."
Aren’t the snows of Kilimanjaro disappearing because of global warming?
* That’s not the verdict of scientists who study Mount Kilimanjaro most closely. In "Modern Glacier Retreat on Kilimanjaro as Evidence of Climate Change: Observations and Facts," Kaser et al. "develop a new concept for investigating the retreat of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers, based on the physical understanding of glacier–climate interactions." They say, "The concept considers the peculiarities of the mountain and implies that climatological processes other than air temperature control the ice recession in a direct manner. A drastic drop in atmospheric moisture at the end of the 19th century and the ensuing drier climatic conditions are likely forcing glacier retreat on Kilimanjaro."
Won’t global warming lead to the spread of malaria?
* Climate is not a significant factor in the recent growth of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. Most experts on this subject agree that malaria is more closely correlated with other factors; deforestation, migration of lowland people (higher immunities, yet they bring disease with them), construction of roads and dams, and the proliferation of pools and ditches are much more important in predicting future spread of these diseases.
Didn’t the U.S. Department of Defense conclude global warming poses a national security threat?
* The Pentagon is not convinced that global warming represents a major security threat to the United States. The "secret paper" that garnered much publicity in Europe was a self-admitted speculative exercise that went beyond the bounds of measured research and had been released to the press long before the sensationalist stories surfaced in Europe. Nor did the paper recommend "immediate action" beyond better climate modeling.
Haven’t recent climate models found that global warming will be much worse than previously thought?
* The news that Oxford University has found that temperatures may increase by up to 11°C severely misrepresents the scientific findings. According to the actual scientific paper, the frequency distribution of the results suggests that the lower end of temperature rises, in the 2°C to 4°C range, is the most likely.
Haven’t the National Academies of all the major industrial countries agreed that global warming is a serious threat?
* Claims have been made that the scientific consensus is represented by a statement drafted by the Royal Society of London and signed by the national scientific academies of the G8 countries plus those of India, Brazil, and China. But such claims ignore the politicized nature of the statement. The climate change committee of the Russian Academy of Sciences later said that its president should not have signed the statement, while the use to which it was put was condemned by the outgoing president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Bruce Alberts, who called the Royal Society’s presentation of the statement "quite misleading."
Aren’t polar bears drowning because of melting ice?
* These claims are overblown. A leading Canadian polar bear biologist wrote recently, "Climate change is having an effect on the west Hudson population of polar bears, but really, there is no need to panic. Of the 13 populations of polar bears in Canada, 11 are stable or increasing in number. They are not going extinct, or even appear to be affected at present."
Isn’t there a scientific consensus such that one researcher found no disagreement about global warming in the literature?
* The research by Naomi Orsekes published in the journal Science in December 2004 was flawed. She studied about 1,000 scientific abstracts, but admitted to a sympathetic journalist that she made a major mistake in her search terms. In fact, she should have reviewed about 12,000 abstracts. Even taking her sample, another researcher who tried to replicate her study came to quite different conclusions. In addition, the most recent survey of climate scientists by Dennis Bray and Hans von Storch, following the same methodology as a published study from 1996, found that while there had been a move towards acceptance of anthropogenic global warming, only 9.4 percent of respondents "strongly agree" that climate change is mostly the result of anthropogenic sources. A similar proportion "strongly disagree." Furthermore, only 22.8 percent of respondents "strongly agree" that the IPCC reports accurately reflect a consensus within climate science.
There is scientific agreement that the world has warmed and that man is at least partly responsible for the warming—though there is no consensus on the precise extent of man’s effect on the climate. There is ongoing scientific debate over the parameters used by the computer models that project future climatic conditions. We cannot be certain whether the world will warm significantly and we do not know how damaging—if at all—even significant warming will be.
Does anyone know which of the duplicate file finder-deleter programs causes the least amount of problems? My computer has way too many duplicate files. Some of them have as many as 6 copies of the same thing in three different files. what causes this and how do I fix it?
help i need to clear out the duplicates and going one at a time sounds like one of the circles of hell to me.
My ten commandments> in addition to the other more famous ten commandments
1. Embrace pain and misfortune, good or bad experiences, as well as life or death. All have lessons for us to learn and therefore grow. Know that Nature will give a balance in the end.
2. Have and show love for all beings. Even the ‘unlovely’ ones.
3. Have freedom from reactions by utilizing logic and reflection and always follow the natural sense of things.
4. Be objective and show clear sight and judgment as often as possible with the information at hand.
5. See the natural order of things and rely on that natural harmony with courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom.
6. Examine one's own judgments and behavior and determine where they have diverged from the universal reason of nature. Ask myself if I did the right thing, not just the easy thing.
7. Be in the moment; devote time and energy to spirituality and the afterlife.
8. Remember Marcus Aurelius and Boethius and Seneca:
Say to yourself in the early morning:
" I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill... I can neither be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him; for we have come into the world to work together..."
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."
"If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word which you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this."
"The point is, not how long you live, but how nobly you live."
“That which Fortune has not given, she cannot take away.”
"Let Nature deal with matter, which is her own, as she pleases; let us be cheerful and brave in the face of everything, reflecting that it is nothing of our own that perishes.”
"Virtue is nothing else than right reason."
9. Be a citizen of the world, never limit my vision to my small location on this earth.
"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
10. Devote time and energy to eliminating ignorance in order to serve others.
Posted: 5:42 PM, Friday, October 5, 2007 in Just life
To find happiness, fulfillment, and value in living I will:
REVERE admirable characteristics in others, such as being moral,
patient, principle-centered, witty, creative, and enthusiastic, and attempt
to implement similar characteristics in my own life.
RECOGNIZE my strengths and develop talents as a person who is artistic,
a creative thinker, a writer, a listener, good at sensing needs, and
decision maker
UTILIZE these talents in reading, drawing, quilting by hand, thinking
about quantum mechanics, gardening, playing with my son/watching him
sleep, good-natured argueing, singing, drinking good coffee, and baking
ENVISION myself becoming a person who:
My sister...the other half of me thinks is committed, industrious, and
principle-centered
My son... our future thinks is caring, dependable, and tolerant
My Mother...the artist thinks is creative, courageous, and industrious
AND I WILL REMEMBER WHAT MATTERS MOST TO ME:
20 years from now, I hope to be surrounded by the most important people
in my life. This is who they are and what I plan to be doing:
I think my sister, Terri and my son, Chris will be there. I like to
think that my mother and my friends will be there, too. I would like to be
at a banquet in my backyard getting the teacher of the year award for
Science in the district I will be working in. Hopefully it will reflect
many years worth of dedicated service and many of my wonderful
students will be there too.
If a six inch steelbeam were placed across two skyscrapers, this is
what I would be willing to cross for:
there is nothing that would entice me to do this scenario.
I would be willing to pledge my service and my energy to making
people's children better understand their need to reflect concern for others
and to acknowledge the connection we all have to each other. I would
spend my life's work instilling the values of the stoics-concern for the
betterment of the society as a whole-to the next few generations.
If I could spend one day in a great library studying anything I wanted,
this is what I would study:
I would study physics and other sciences, like biology and
anthropology, just for the joy of knowing something new.
If I could spend the day in a great art museum, then I would study the
masters of the 1300's.
This is a time when I was deeply inspired:
Science!
Watson and Crick! Mendel? Rutherford,Einstein,Schrödinger... no wait,
Carl Sagan, or Steven Hawking...Madame Curie! Now there was a woman
who knew what dedication really is! She died trying to overcome prejudice
and find useful information about radioactivity! All of these and many
more scientists have been my inspiration, but none of them as much as
Madame Curie.
This is what I feel represents me and why:
The UTEP campus represents me. It is solid and yet it feels like home.
It needs some work in spots, yet it inspires learning and confidence
and a slight sense of adventure. It has weathered many years and will
continue to do so. People who pass through UTEP feel a kinship with it for
all of their lives, no matter how long they are away.
If I could spend one hour with any person who ever lived, this is who
it would be, and what I would ask:
I would spend time with the man we call Christ because his answers to
my questions would be closest to the source. I would ask him if he knew
what he was starting and what would happen through the ages. I would
ask him about his views of science and how he would reconcile science and
religion. I would ask him about all of the exclusionary religions and
about the other religions that do not recognize his existence.
Ok, So everyone knows someone who is female, right?
Did you know that Breast Cancer can affect men as well?
There is a button on Patty's blog that goes to a site that gives screening to women based on need and the number of clicks
go click it!!!
We really need to support efforts to evade one of the top killers of women.
do it every day, you're online anyway, like brushing your teeth or eating, or breathing. It's that important.
Posted: 9:57 AM, Wednesday, October 3, 2007 in Just life
1. missing one little > in the code that makes the whole thing stupid
2. working 6 hours to make a pretty thing in PSP and then not saving the darn thing
3. having teachers and parents falsely accuse my son, without going through a proper interrogation of the matter
4. reading really dry text books about curriculum building blah!
5. waking up two hours too early when I could have had a good night's sleep for a change
now I realize that in the greater scheme of things, none of these are permanent disasters, but good grief! I really hate being inconvenienced.
Posted: 6:28 AM, Friday, September 28, 2007 in Just life
Treasa is tutoring me in the fine art of code writing. I have made my wishes known and we are both trying to get the time to update the look of the page. I have lots of things to look forward to like:
pretty buttons/ bullets that I made for the friends list
scroll work between the posts
bumpers
rss feed button?
shout box (maybe)
arrows forward and back
a better, more usable links list
fix the right side edge of that blasted logo
insert a clock that matches
better art work (I can do this, it just takes some time)
{This list is a reminder of what I want to accomplish}
I have seen many blogs that I never visited before and many of them are just plain gorgeous! It's such a treat to see how people put things forth.
Posted: 11:03 PM, Wednesday, September 26, 2007 in blog progress
> Sign over a Gynecologist's Office: > "Dr. Jones, at your cervix." > ************************** > In a Podiatrist's office: > "Time wounds all heels." > ************************** > On a Septic Tank Truck: > Yesterday's Meals on Wheels > ************************** > At a Proctologist's door: > "To expedite your visit please back in." > ************************** > On a Plumber's truck: > "We repair what your husband fixed." > ************************** > On another Plumber's truck: > "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.." > ************************** > On a Church's Billboard: > "7 days without God makes one weak." > ************************** > At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee: > "Invite us to your next blowout." > ************************** > At a Towing company: > "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows." > ************************** > On an Electrician's truck: > "Let us remove your shorts." > ************************** > In a Nonsmoking Area: > "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate >action." > ************************** > On a Maternity Room door: > "Push. Push. Push." > ************************** > At an Optometrist's Office: > "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right
>place." > ************************** > On a Taxidermist's window: > "We really know our stuff." > ************************** > On a Fence: > "Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!" > ************************** > At a Car Dealership: > "The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment." > ************************** > Outside a Muffler Shop: > "No appointment necessary. We hear you coming." > ************************** > In a Veterinarian's waiting room: > "Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!" > ************************** > At the Electric Company > "We would be delighted if you send in your payment. However, if you >don't, you will be." > ************************** > In a Restaurant window: > "Don't stand there and be hungry, Come on in and get fed up." > ************************** > In the front yard of a Funeral Home: > "Drive carefully. We'll wait." > ************************** > At a Propane Filling Station: > "Thank heaven for little grills." > ************************** > And don't forget the sign at a > Chicago Radiator Shop: > "Best place in town to take a leak."
Gotta laugh at some of these
Have a great week!
Posted: 9:56 PM, Sunday, September 23, 2007 in laugh laugh
I am amazed! all of the posts from the other blog have magically appeared! Thanks!
I could have waited a lot longer and not been bent out of shape one little bit.
Thank you Keith!
Posted: 10:06 PM, Saturday, September 22, 2007 in blog progress
ok, I was going for something a little different. this isn't it. Drat it! It looks like pink bathroom tile gone amok!
we will try again.
breathe in
breathe out
yuck!
Posted: 7:32 PM, Saturday, September 22, 2007 in blog progress
About the new system and theory of diminishing returns
I see that some folks are getting a bit anxious about when or how long it will take for the new system to have its full functionality. please remember the following:
1. all of those who are demanding certain functionality with repeated e-mail requests are perhaps forgetting that each e-mail takes a number of seconds to read and reply to. Those very seconds are limited. each person only has so many hours per day that can be donated to helping us get things going the way we want them.
2. The community leaders are spending every waking moment they can trying to get tutorials and examples available for us to use.
3. If they are reading your fifth request for a backup copy of your old posts, then they cannot possibly be doing anything else. Law of physics= you cannot be doing two things at the exact same time.
4. Think about how frustrating it is to know that everyone who writes to you wants something from you. some of them even want it immediately! can you imagine?If a pizza takes 6.5 minutes to cook and 12.5 minutes to eat, then how much time is "allowed" for the person to relax after they eat? GET REAL!
Have mercy! It will all get better soon enough. And those of you to whom this post is directed... Shame on you!
Posted: 10:43 AM, Friday, September 21, 2007 in blog progress
Well, it was back into the class with the "challenged" kids today. I go back to the same class in the morning. Considering that I had absolutely no lesson plan today, it went fairly well. Add to that , i have a class A cold and that this group needs every lesson read aloud, and I am amazed that It did go so well.
Ok...I have managed in three hours to change my background, load my avatar, load my banner( yes it's awful, but it's there!), add some friends, load a few pictures to use on the blog later when I have time, find out that a whole lot of you are having the same problems (none of which can I fix because i completely suck at this), change part of the template so that at least the link to the main home page works and my sister's is working, do two loads of dishes and runaround the block a few times for my weird neighbor.
So many friends are having depression. It makes me wonder if we need more human interaction. Are we all so busy that we can't take the time to listen to someone who may just need us? We all have excuses. Homework, house work, gotta get dinner on the table, that's on my list for tomorrow...
what if tomorrow is too late? what if someone needs us now?
I'm going to purge the things that are piling up on me now...
15 years ago, after a seriously bad relationship break-up, I started going to college. I wanted to major in genetics. Berkley Davis sent me stuff on their program so I felt I was keeping up. I am stuck in Texas. Gotta stay here. not really all that bad. After years of hard work,and a shift in major to education, I graduated last May Cum Laude. I thought I would be hired. Texas makes such a big deal of how they NEED teachers, especially math and science. what gives? I am a perfectly good candidate. I am familiar with the latest bullshit the education department thinks is the best way to coddle the kids through. I am willing to do all of that smooshy crap for a job. I have no illusion that some kids will be impossible but most of them will be ok or better. Someone just hire me!!!
Is there any possibility that the state of Texas could find a reasonable middle ground when it comes to child custody? the current system is little better than the old King Solomon solution. It creates anxiety and chaos in two homes for 18 years. It is just plain unrealistic and unfair for everyone involved. Why should the state expect a kid to perform well in school if he's shuttled between two homes twice a week? There's no continuity. It's no wonder the kid has a crappy attitude for his life. I wouldn't want to be him either.
It should be a crime for people in this day and age to be living on less than $1000 per month. Employers should have to pay enough for someone to live on. I know if I didn't make tips, we would be sunk. What if something happened to the car. Where would we live? how would we get by? Food stamps and other programs are a joke. How am I supposed to provide for my child? We need a house at a reasonable rent or payment. In the last 18 months, the city has raised our property values more than double and raised the property taxes by a total amount of 18%! How do older folks on fixed incomes deal with that? Three years ago, their house was "worth" 60 thou then now it is worth 180 thou. and it is taxed at 18 % more at a higher valuation? I know several folks whose house taxes went from $2000 per year to $6000 per year. This should be illegal as well. when will it all end?
There are too many short sighted solutions going on. What happened to integrity and compassion and responsibility?
My favorite uncle has cancer. yes, they caught it early, but still...
One of my friends is losing her husband and another won't get rid of hers...a quasi-relative is 7 weeks pregnant with her second set of twins and just found out she has uterine cancer, she's 29...
Another Stunning Day...My dear sister and I had a birthday celebration a few days ago, which we celebrated the usual way. We went to the jewelry counter at Sears. Our celebration included aquamarine goodies for her and pink sapphires for me. We also found some lovely multi gemstone flower studs for each of us and (of course) they match.
We have spent most of our lives together> our first 16 years and the last 11 years. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. She is the niftiest person and tirelessly supportive. She helps raise my son. She is our computer interpreter and tutor. She can google and find anything even after I've tried unsuccessfully for hours. She has unending patience with both me and my son-and that is saying a lot!
For those of you who have close family, you know how wonderful they are. I hope many of you have what we have.
You scored as Moya (Farscape), You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes.
I have spent the last few days working hard to secure a job in the local school districts. I cannot believe how hard it is when You don't know anyone in the area!
there are little women behind desks that have the power of GOD of telling candidates that they are not what the school is looking for... Well, what the heck are they looking for?
Texas has need of English teachers, Science teachers, math teachers, social studies teachers.
I have 30 undergrad hours in English, 52 undergrad hours in science, ok, I barely have any math, and I have over 25 hours in social studies. What is the problem?!!!
I may have no experience, but I learn quickly and I am only asking for a chance to prove I can do it!
We have added these lovely Fids to our family. they are all very young and need names. The last set of budgies were named after gemstones, but that does not seem to work with these guys. Their sexes are unknown at this time, however, at least two (the cobalt and the violet) are male for sure. the other two could be either sex because there is not a certain way to be sure with their coloration like the other two.
The gray could be female and the cinnamon-lutino is acting like a female, but I cannot be sure until we see eggs next year. If we see eggs, then they will start taking 'the pill' because we cannot be sure that they come from different parents but we are sure that they come from the same breeder.
Suggest names if you like, we may just need the help.
ok... I understand that there are a few annoying things in life, but why is Bryce 5.5 being such a huge pain in the back-side? Content should download correctly, don't you think? I never had this much trouble from the old version and I am hopping --screaming mad and totally pissed off!
Content will not imput
README's are not there
user guide is not on my computer
about to have a total conniption fit!!!
i would put up a picture, but this stupid thing insists on jumping through hoops just to do that too.
what ever happened to having the ability to load directly from the hard drive of one's computer?? Why do developers insist on making things harder or more convoluted? why isn't the computer world MORE USER FRIENDLY???
just hopping mad and not likely to get over it soon
Another Stunning Day...
I found a new toy in Bryce. It seems that those of us hat have a previous copy can get the last version for around 20.00
This is the art program i used to create the picture for my logo. I haven't used it much , but it does a nifty job with what I have tried so far.
If you want to try it, it might be nice to take a trip through your favorite search engine to see if it is available in a trial or something.
Don McLean " American Pie" was brought up by Kinnigirl and has made me think about the question more deeply.
I enjoy all kinds of music, but if you ask me what i want played at my funeral, there is a very short list. These are the songs that saved me over the years and made me have hope instead of giving in to suicide and despair.
"Vincent"
V1
Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray.
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chill
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Chorus
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free.
They would not listen.
They did not know how.
Perhaps they’ll listen now.
V2
Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling cloud and violet haze
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of China blue.
Colors changing hue.
Mourning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hands.
Chorus
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now.
V3
For they could not love you
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.
V4
Stary stary night
Portraits hung in empty halls
frameless heads on nameless walls
with eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in ragged clothes.
The silver thorn, a bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity.
And how you tried to set them free.
They would not listen.
They’re not listening still
Perhaps they never will.
(Thank you Don McLean)
more later, a lightening storm has just appeared and we have to shut down.
12 hours later...
So, I was going to add
"Angie" Rolling Stones
"Taxi" Harry Chapin
"Seasons in the Sun" Terry Jacks
One of my new fave's is "Lithium" from Evanesscence. I really enjoy her work and the work of Chevelle and Seether. I don't know how many 40-somethings are listening to the newer rock bands, but I find that many of them are continuing to pay homage to the older (really older-say 1300's) style of music.
There are many classical pieces I love like the Adagio for strings (Samuel Barber) and The Swan by Saint Saens and anything by Pucchini but especially Madame Butterfly's ending aria to her child. Boy! that one really gets me.
Is it Un Bel Di?
Ok, so I like my music to be full of emotion.
This leads to the question above... Does music save us?
I have to think that there are times when it can help us overcome adversity. When I broke up with any current beau, there was always a song to help me get through it. When I was giving birth to my son, there was a song or two to help me commemorate it.
I think music is essential to us. Anthropologists have found music was always one of the first things people of any group used to express themselves and motivate action.
The popular music of the last 50 years or so has been a running documentation of the political and emotional and cultural changes we have experienced. Everyone has favorites that are the musical chronicles of their lives.
Today I added
1. a clock
2. the new widgets
3. Most Importantly~~~ a wonderful person Scottitude, will try to make a simple map for us to use to fix our colors and other things. Yipppiieee!
happy dancing about the last one!
will now work on trying to get this thing looking 'more better' soon!
Another Stunning Day...
OK. Yes, I like the restyle.
I am having a few issues with selecting colors and such, but that just means that i need to work on the old posts to make them less ecclectic.
Sis is helping me figure out some of this, but mostly it's hunt and peck to see what works and what doesn't.
I got a new banner made...and up!-- all by myself!(pats herself on the back)
I am trying to figure out what colors to use for what "thingy".
I have made some terrible choices, but they are going to be gone, once I figure out what I like and what is really awful.
Stay tuned for the progress of a computer illiterate working on a new page look.!
I have a few questions for those who seem to be in charge. As a 40- something > over 60% voter who considers both sides before making a decision I want to know:
Why are there so many polarized opinions being put forth in the current situation? The war we are engaged in the Middle East makes me wonder what the heck is really going on? Is it true that we are only there to kill terrorists? Are our sons and daughters dying just for Bush to complete his father's work?( yes, I actually heard this). Are we there just to ensure the supply of oil? Is it true that Clinton had a plan, but Bush trashed it?If Clinton had a plan, why didn't he do something? There has to be a deeper problem that means something in the overall scheme of the situation. It cannot be a simple "get our sons out of there" solution.
Is our country really led by people who are this shallow and who have nothing substantive to say about this situation? It seems that the major news reporters and talk show guys would like us to think this. The two choices are "kill 'em all and sort it out later" or "get outta there and let them handle their problem" I have a problem believing that our founding fathers were able to make such a flexible constitution and frame a country from the best ideas of the middle ages and the renaissance- Only to have us flub it up a mere 200+ years later. Do we not have a country full of people who think about a problem, anymore? How can it be possible that we prefer to have the newspeople "feed" us the way we should think about this problem? Why are there only two choices on how to proceed on the extrication of our country's involvement?
The wars we have had in this country, I thought, were fought for reasons that were of a higher magnitude than sheer revenge or imperialistic interests. Surely we have more far-reaching motives for the current situation than sheer profit. I was raised believing that our country was motivated by a fairness to human life and dedicated to promoting equality and tolerance for others. Was this just a juvenile fantasy? Is money and power the real motivation? Is influence and avarice the reason we all get up in the morning? It this the reason our people have died in all of the wars we have had over the last couple of centuries?
I thought it was "give me Liberty or give me Death!" not "Give me cheap gas and don't mess with my Starbuck's/ Wal-mart/401K"
If this is the attitude we are promoting in our collective thinking, then maybe we deserve to loose something precious. Our freedom is in jeopardy every time one of us takes the easy way out and lets someone else tell us what to think or how to proceed. When our options are limited because we are too apathetic to demand more careful consideration, we whittle away at our freedom just a little bit more. We loose options. Our options were what made our freedom. Wake up and see that there are those out there who are more than willing to let you think you have freedom while they are slowly and slyly sneaking away with your options. If we let them, then we do not deserve the freedom that we thought we had.
There are other choices besides just yes and no. All parents know that "maybe..." is the best option that works for the desired results. We cannot allow the choice to be "pull out now" or "stay until whenever". There is another huge set of options that can be considered as " when you _______, then ________..."
Maybe some of you have a better way to express this problem. I fear that we as a country are letting the problems be expressed too simplistically, without the careful consideration that they deserve. I do not like to think that all of those who have sacrificed their lives and freedom for us would appreciate our shallow and conceited slight to their memory.
It's Memorial Day. Shouldn't we be doing something more substantial than the back yard Barbecue?
Update: Now I have a BA in multidisciplinary studies, concentrations= Literature, child development and Social studies
I have already started taking steps to continue my Master's
The graduation ceremony was farcical.
The PA system was iff-y The band left half way through...
The speaker was a substitute for an astronaut who was busy getting ready to launch. The sub was not a good speaker- she was shy and everything she said was all about her... like we know who she is and really care about the twists and turns in Her career?? The graduate office didn't send out any kind of itinerary, so none of us knew what to do next. My whole family got a sunburn because no one knew where to meet each other after.
The 20 PhD's took longer than the 400+ BA's
That was weird!
My mother and my aunt haven't seen each other for over 30 years, and now I know why (LOL)!
My aunt is a steam roller of a woman. My mother is a brick wall... or maybe a castle, but definitely solid and unmovable...You get the picture? Try getting one of them to be flexible, it was an experience! Whooohooo!
My dear sis was wonderful and I owe her a huge thank you for all of the crapp that she has suffered over the last few years, and also for the garbage she took over the past weekend.
There are never going to be enough words to express my gratitude to all three of these women. They each in their own way and own time have supported me and I owe them everything.
Now I have fear and trepidation about the next phase of the adventure. The huge test that verifies that I know something intimidates me. I worry that making enough money to live on will be too strange but I am willing to try it out.
Will someone please have a breakdown for me? I am sure I deserve it, but I don't have time... so if you will please just give me the cliff notes version of the experience ...
Look what a dear friend sent me today!!! (hint...way below)
It was just what I needed. I had just finished printing the 19 essays that are due for my finals and I was wiped out, until I saw this...
Borrow it if you want... I have no idea who wrote it, but i am sure they won't mind
A Blue Ribbon For You.
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high
school by telling them the difference each of them had made. She called
each student to the front of the class, one at a time.
First, she told each of them how they had made a difference to her, and
the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon, imprinted
with gold letters, which read, "Who I am makes a difference."
Afterwards, the teacher decided to do a class project, to see what kind
of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the
students three more blue ribbons, and instructed them to go out and
spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the
results, see who honored whom, and report to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby
company, and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He
gave him a blue ribbon, and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two
extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and
we'd like for you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue
ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a
third person, to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please
report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day, the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had
been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his
boss down, and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a
creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive
asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon, and would he
give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well,
sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on
his boss's jacket, above his heart. As he gave him the last extra
ribbon, he said, "Would you take this extra ribbon, and pass it on by
honoring somebody else. The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is
doing a project in school, and we want to keep this recognition ceremony
going and find out how it affects people."
That night, the boss came home to his 14-year-old son, and sat him
down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in
my office, and one of the junior executives came in and told me he
admired me, and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius.
Imagine! He thinks I am a creative genius! Then he put a blue ribbon
that says, "Who I am makes a difference", on my jacket above my heart.
He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor.
As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would
honor with this ribbon, and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My
days are hectic and when I come home, I do not pay a lot of attention to
you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in
school, and for your bedroom being a mess. Somehow, tonight, I just
wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a
difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person
in my life. You're a great kid, and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he could not stop crying
while his whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through
his tears, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to
you and mom, explaining why I had took my life, and I asked you to
forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep.
I just did not think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I
don't think I need it after all." His father walked upstairs and found a
heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain.
The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch,
but made sure to let all of his employees know that they made a
difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with
c
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