Tuesday, April 27, 2010

People: They Are Bad At Doing Stuff

I love this montage of reasons why you need an infomercial product.  You don’t even get what’s going on, but once you see the fade to black and white and the red “x,” you know your problems are about to be saved.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Colons

Just got this email from the 9th grade English teacher at my school:

So I’m reviewing rules for colons today and I’m trying to make it fun by charging kids to write entertaining sentences. Here is what SS wrote for the following rule:


Rule: Use a colon after an independent clause when introducing a list.

SS’s sentence: Rick Astley will never do the following things: give you up, let you down, turn around, or desert you.


Being a high school teacher is so worth it!


Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sunny California

Sometimes people mistakenly call this The Sunshine State. That’s Florida, but you’re right to be confused.  It’s wicked sunny here, too.  We had a great week of sun and fun.

I’ve had a lot of visitors recently, which has made things fun and made me tired.

Right after Easter, JPH came to see me between family events on the West Coast.  We had a grand time, even though I can hardly get home from work at a reasonable time.  We watched the NCAA Championship games for men (on Castro St. in Mountain View) and women (at The Dutch Goose – a local favorite). 

This week, JMac came up from LA.  P-squared, she, and I went out for Italian here in town, got gelato, went to hang out with some colleagues, and it got late, so we had a slumber party at my house so they didn’t have to drive to the city.

Finally, my sister came to town on Thursday night!  I totally left her at the airport because I was in a coma and didn’t hear the multiple alarms I set.  Does that give you an indication of life out here?

Friday was a fun, fun day. 

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JC and I wore matching shirts.  Unplanned, but we are on the same wavelength in the world, so it’s not surprising.  This is us, eating lunch outside as we always do.

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I got my seniors to do a Minute To Win It game to end the day.  The blonde on the far left is our DJ from Finland.  He’s cooler than I.  I love AH on the bottom right, coaching her team.

I worked all week getting the Fixie Crew together for Fixie Friday.  It ended up being me and four boys.  I am trying desperately to get some ladies involved.  They are intimidated, but won’t listen to me when I tell them it will be fine.  I think I’ll have to do a ladies ride soon. 

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Here we have two seniors and two sophomores.  Four fixies and one multi-geared bike among us.  We had fun on the miles of smooth, flat pavement.

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Here we are looking out onto the Bay.  Love it!  I don’t know why I look puffed up, but I’m a Pelican for a reason, I guess.  I’m not happy about the no helmets on these boys.  At least they have brakes.

We did about 15 miles together and then I booked it home after our ride.  So, I had a 25 mile day on Friday.  Whew!  That’s tiring on a fixie and in jeans.  But on my way home, I was passes by one of my students hung out the passenger window yelling my name and waving at me.  That put a smile on my face until I reached my door.

Friday night was Supper Club and we went to the Cuban spot Bodeguita del Medio.  It was pretty good.  Appetizers were yummy and so were the drinks (we were celebrating), but my fish entree was just eh.

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Here’s NK.  He’s in the Fixie Crew but didn’t ride with us, as he was after school helping kids get smarter.  Regardless, we were matching all day.  I’m not sure what’s going on in this picture, but it seems pretty par for the course.  We are pretty goofy.

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The Supper Club.  NK is by default, my date, since everyone else is an official couple.  We walked a few blocks down to the Nuthouse, which is KMc’s “Cheers” and played some Shoulders.  It’s a drinking game that is entirely unfair if you are not drinking.  NK, my sister, and I were boss at this game.

Saturday night was the reason my sister came to town.  The Avett Brothers were gracing us with their presence.  I love them.  Love, love, love them.  I’ve seen them three times now, and I’m always so impressed with the energy and talent.  And their style.  I love how they dress.  We saw them at the gorgeous Fox Theatre in Oakland.  The bottom floor is just for standing, with four levels, each a few steps up from each other.  There is also a balcony of seats.  We opted to stand at the front of the second level, so we were close, but more importantly, above the heads in front of us. 

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Scott and Seth Avett. What a great pair.

Here’s a great tune from the actual concert I saw.  It doesn’t display the frenetic energy of their live shows, but it does show off their sweet way with a song.

One of the encore songs they sang was “Where Have All The Average People Gone.”  They do a great, great version.  Scott Avett does it here.  How can I work this into my Stats class?

Today, sis and I took a drive to the Pacific before her flight. 

This place is pretty magical, in case you need reminding.  I think I do.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Granite State of Mind

I love “Empire State of Mind” and can’t believe this is the first parody I’ve seen.  This one will make sense if you’re a Yankee and will crack you up as well.

And I love Marlee Matlin.  She’s put out this pilot of “My Deaf Family.”  I would definitely watch this show.  And who knew that Fremont, CA (right across the bay from me) has such a strong deaf community.  Maybe I should stick around so I can learn sign language over there.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Endorsements

A few things on the docket this week:

1. I want this owl sweater.  The pattern can be obtained here.  The skill to knit it…probably not currently in my wheelhouse/.

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2. The oddest book title award goes to Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina.  This isn’t so odd to me, as I cut out this article about the craze from the New York Times in 2008, in the midst of teaching hyperbolas.  Sounds like an awesome project for a Pre-Calc class someday.

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3. SepiaTown is a mashup of Google Maps (almost always makes for a winner) and historical images in major cities around the world.  Of course, I love the Boston map, because I know the city quite well and there are so many preserved buildings.  The best part is to click on the then/now link to see side-by-side shots of then and today’s street view.  Love, love, love!

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Paul Revere’s House

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Kings Chapel

 

4. I won’t try to explain these photos, but taxidermy squirrels are reminiscent of this post, so I’m clearly a fan.  Kudos to Rick Nadeau of Rick’s Custom Squirrels, for doing something he is passionate about and that people will pay for.

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Don’t mess.
Photo by Jennifer Silverberg for Riverfront Times.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Infancy

Why have I been sleeping like an infant?    All night and all day.