Halloween and its birthday for Wanda Brown. Born in 29.. you do the math.. Ha!
My gift.. coming through Ebay is dead pawn... and its zuni coral..
Those of your who know my ebay name can probably look it up... Ha again.
We are getting ready for a rash of trick or treaters.. the Hmong kids really hit the apts.. multiple homes in a small area. We also need to station a treat center at the old house to protect the investment from Jr. high revilers.
Hope the ghosts don't find you this Halloween.
Love
Pat
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Woolgrowers Los Banos
Only on Sunday do they replace the lamb stew with chicken and rice. French fries to die for still come with the main course. The MSB favorite is the beans. Her nutritionist told her to eat a cup of beans every day. These would make her happy. She likes beans anyway.
Which leads me to the old joke.. where can you get gas for under a dollar?
Taco Bell... I know thats bad.. buts its my blog so suck it up!
The Woolgowers meal started with bread and butter. A cabbage based vegetable soup followed along with a lettuce salad dressed with a mysterious dressing. A bottle of undefined red wine.. rot gut as my father would call it is also present. Everything is served family style with the exception of the main course. When you have a handle on all of that the lamb stew, or in the case of Sunday chicken rice is served. As additional parts of the meal are swept away or left depending on the interest of the party. Some people in our family including Sue are happy with just this part of the meal. To get this much you order a "place serving."
Those that order a main course on Sunday lunch could choose between pork chops, lamb chops, baked chicken or tri tip.
A desert of ice cream cup or cheese is included. Linzi and I ordered the cheese. Sean had the ice cream.
Price is 15 dollars per head. Tip extra. A bar is available for sodas or anything else you may desire.
Dinner is a little more and includes more options.
No checks or credit cards are permitted as payment.
Which leads me to the old joke.. where can you get gas for under a dollar?
Taco Bell... I know thats bad.. buts its my blog so suck it up!
The Woolgowers meal started with bread and butter. A cabbage based vegetable soup followed along with a lettuce salad dressed with a mysterious dressing. A bottle of undefined red wine.. rot gut as my father would call it is also present. Everything is served family style with the exception of the main course. When you have a handle on all of that the lamb stew, or in the case of Sunday chicken rice is served. As additional parts of the meal are swept away or left depending on the interest of the party. Some people in our family including Sue are happy with just this part of the meal. To get this much you order a "place serving."
Those that order a main course on Sunday lunch could choose between pork chops, lamb chops, baked chicken or tri tip.
A desert of ice cream cup or cheese is included. Linzi and I ordered the cheese. Sean had the ice cream.
Price is 15 dollars per head. Tip extra. A bar is available for sodas or anything else you may desire.
Dinner is a little more and includes more options.
No checks or credit cards are permitted as payment.
Tip Cup Mystery Resolved
Sean and LInzi were down to see us Sunday. I asked Sean about the tip cup. He said that very few dollars are allowed to be in the tip cup due to the unsupervised nature of it. Someone could come by and rip it off pretty easily.
It sounds to me that the folks in BnNoble do not need the tip.(See Kelly's comment on yesterday's post)
Sean wasn't sure that he wanted to drive all the way to Banos for the chicken and rice. Its only available on Sunday at Woolgowers. He thought that it was an entree. After he had some, he changed his mind. It is especially good for those in our crowd that do not like lamb. It is the only day that they do chicken and rice instead of lamb stew. Sue begged out. LInzi and I had the lamb chops and Sean had the tri tip.. all were great. The beans were great and the soup and the salad and the fries. All for 15 each. Sunday is served continously. During the rest of the week they stop serving lunch at 2 and start serving dinner at 4.
Have a great day.
Pat
It sounds to me that the folks in BnNoble do not need the tip.(See Kelly's comment on yesterday's post)
Sean wasn't sure that he wanted to drive all the way to Banos for the chicken and rice. Its only available on Sunday at Woolgowers. He thought that it was an entree. After he had some, he changed his mind. It is especially good for those in our crowd that do not like lamb. It is the only day that they do chicken and rice instead of lamb stew. Sue begged out. LInzi and I had the lamb chops and Sean had the tri tip.. all were great. The beans were great and the soup and the salad and the fries. All for 15 each. Sunday is served continously. During the rest of the week they stop serving lunch at 2 and start serving dinner at 4.
Have a great day.
Pat
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tip Cup
At many quasi serve yourself places there is the ubiquitous tip cup. I know having children of mine depending upon contribution in the tip box for survival, that we should always put something in the tip cup. Minimum wage now even in the valley does not represent minimum survival.
This morning at Starbucks I re-upped my prepaid card. Usually when I do that I put in a tip to cover the tip for the money that I prepay. Today I put in a 5 dollar bill to go with my 20dollar card. When I returned to get he new music, my 5 dollar tip had suddenly turned into a one dollar bill in the cup. Do you think that it is company policy for no big bills in the tip jar? Or do you think that that tip will go unreported to the daily/weekly group? I am hoping to get a comment from my family barista on this topic. Was that the policy at Pete's?
Do you think that we pay more for our drinks and have the people get paid more for our service? I talked to am assistant manager of a local independent pizza place. He said that the outcome of the new minimum wage would be less service and higher prices. What really happened? The pizza place has significantly lowered their prices. When I asked why? Business had slacked off because people were not going out to eat as much. The local economy has significantly been lowered. The same was true for service businesses in town. A conversation at a local coffee shop revealed that a new owner of a carpet cleaning business was having the same sort of issues. He bought into a franchise and it was barely making it after he had renegotiated with his landlord new lower rates for his business.
Can we blame this all on big box corporate intrusion?
Have a great weekend
Pat
This morning at Starbucks I re-upped my prepaid card. Usually when I do that I put in a tip to cover the tip for the money that I prepay. Today I put in a 5 dollar bill to go with my 20dollar card. When I returned to get he new music, my 5 dollar tip had suddenly turned into a one dollar bill in the cup. Do you think that it is company policy for no big bills in the tip jar? Or do you think that that tip will go unreported to the daily/weekly group? I am hoping to get a comment from my family barista on this topic. Was that the policy at Pete's?
Do you think that we pay more for our drinks and have the people get paid more for our service? I talked to am assistant manager of a local independent pizza place. He said that the outcome of the new minimum wage would be less service and higher prices. What really happened? The pizza place has significantly lowered their prices. When I asked why? Business had slacked off because people were not going out to eat as much. The local economy has significantly been lowered. The same was true for service businesses in town. A conversation at a local coffee shop revealed that a new owner of a carpet cleaning business was having the same sort of issues. He bought into a franchise and it was barely making it after he had renegotiated with his landlord new lower rates for his business.
Can we blame this all on big box corporate intrusion?
Have a great weekend
Pat
Friday, October 26, 2007
Two Mile Walk
Today I walked the long route. I added another half mile to the route since I had more time.
I got my teeth cleaned yesterday despite the fact that I missed my appointment the day berfore. I had the wrong date in my mind. If there is any consolation.. I couldn't have made the appointment yeserday anyway since it was a negotiation day and the E board need to be debriefed after. That kept me engaged until 5 pm in that activity. Appointment was at 4.
Looked and reconsidered the stove top oven mix. Last night we were at Loews. The one guy assigned to the applicances was busy writing an order for a customer that lived up above Mariposa. It took more than 45minutes. They need to streamline their ording business. So I asked for some help. We ended up with the sales manager for the store. Paul has quite a british accent and the charm to go with it. Its no wonder that he had made it up to that mangerial position at that age. He is about 26.We were very impressed by a Bosch dishwaher.The whole top layer comes off and big canning pots can go right in.
Also I am looking at the cabinet set up for the cook area.
Have a great Friday.
Pat
I got my teeth cleaned yesterday despite the fact that I missed my appointment the day berfore. I had the wrong date in my mind. If there is any consolation.. I couldn't have made the appointment yeserday anyway since it was a negotiation day and the E board need to be debriefed after. That kept me engaged until 5 pm in that activity. Appointment was at 4.
Looked and reconsidered the stove top oven mix. Last night we were at Loews. The one guy assigned to the applicances was busy writing an order for a customer that lived up above Mariposa. It took more than 45minutes. They need to streamline their ording business. So I asked for some help. We ended up with the sales manager for the store. Paul has quite a british accent and the charm to go with it. Its no wonder that he had made it up to that mangerial position at that age. He is about 26.We were very impressed by a Bosch dishwaher.The whole top layer comes off and big canning pots can go right in.
Also I am looking at the cabinet set up for the cook area.
Have a great Friday.
Pat
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Windows and Walls
There are new windows all the way around at the old house. The windows are in. The outside walls are ready for some stucco. So we are effectively buttoned up.
We are weathering one more snafu. The beam that supports the wall in the kitchen area did not pass code. The engineer called for a laminated beam and we got a solid wood beam instead. So the inspector is taking it under advisement. The beam is a 4x12 so it is plenty large enough to hold the roof up. Tony, the contractor, said that he didn't see a tiny e at the end of the specs.. and that is the difference. We could end up with a supporting pier that could add to the design as a remedy or he will have to take it all down and redo it with the engineered beam.
The holes in the new bathroom have been cemented in. The 41x17 inch jetted tub is ready for installation.
Things really progressed today. We need to go down and finalize the selection of the stove top and the ovens. We were thinking about a dual energy one that would have gas on the top burner and a small flat oven under it that is electric, and a convection oven under that which is full sized. The problem is that cook has to reach to the back of the stove to access the controls of the ovens. Still there is a 500 dollar price reduction because it is a floor model and they want to put a new one in its place. Its a Jen Aire.
Georgie the pure white manx cat has been holding down the fort at the old address. I see him every day when I pick up the mail. He is getting used to the can cat food that comes along with the love each evening. Each morning I go by and pick up the papers for Sue to read as part of my walk.
Hope you had a great Wednesday. I spent the day in negotiations. Sometimes it gets metaphorical. I was accused of beating a dead mule for farts...
The sad part was that they were right. We just couldn't give them what they wanted. So they started calling us names.. all in the name of negotiations.
: ) Pat
We are weathering one more snafu. The beam that supports the wall in the kitchen area did not pass code. The engineer called for a laminated beam and we got a solid wood beam instead. So the inspector is taking it under advisement. The beam is a 4x12 so it is plenty large enough to hold the roof up. Tony, the contractor, said that he didn't see a tiny e at the end of the specs.. and that is the difference. We could end up with a supporting pier that could add to the design as a remedy or he will have to take it all down and redo it with the engineered beam.
The holes in the new bathroom have been cemented in. The 41x17 inch jetted tub is ready for installation.
Things really progressed today. We need to go down and finalize the selection of the stove top and the ovens. We were thinking about a dual energy one that would have gas on the top burner and a small flat oven under it that is electric, and a convection oven under that which is full sized. The problem is that cook has to reach to the back of the stove to access the controls of the ovens. Still there is a 500 dollar price reduction because it is a floor model and they want to put a new one in its place. Its a Jen Aire.
Georgie the pure white manx cat has been holding down the fort at the old address. I see him every day when I pick up the mail. He is getting used to the can cat food that comes along with the love each evening. Each morning I go by and pick up the papers for Sue to read as part of my walk.
Hope you had a great Wednesday. I spent the day in negotiations. Sometimes it gets metaphorical. I was accused of beating a dead mule for farts...
The sad part was that they were right. We just couldn't give them what they wanted. So they started calling us names.. all in the name of negotiations.
: ) Pat
Walking the Fine Line
In Starbucks this morning a group of middle aged men occupied the center arena. They were in rapt attention with their bibles out. They were listening to the tales of one of the members talking in great detail about his drug experiences. Not how it felt but rather who he met and what were the outcomes of a drug life in the 70's. Questions were asked and some were answered.. but only on the same movement as described above. Kind of like a name dropper on events.
One of the events was noted as "waking up" in Carmel Valley on the streets naked and asking a resident about how to get to a particular place. This led to 17 days of jail because of the number of apostolic enforcers in the area. He also had a psychotic break due to mushrooms. Question form the floor was "What kind of mushrooms?" Answer the kind that make you sick. He also talked about how a contact was out for his life. In encountered the hit man that drove one of those old caddies with the huge seats in the back.
So the witness continues. The minister was walking a fine line in working this witness so as not to draw conclusions or allow others to judge in the process. I think the mode is to get crediablity for the witness and then draw them back to how their life has changed with the religious presence in his life.
Does kind of message work anymore? Are we over this assault? Do really care enough to change out life because of it? Is doing this in a 6am Starbuck's make it more effective as an outreach? Have our old institutions changed enough to be effective to our modern lives? How do other religions do this sort of thing?
Weigh in readers.. hit the comment button and tell me what you think.
: ) Pat
One of the events was noted as "waking up" in Carmel Valley on the streets naked and asking a resident about how to get to a particular place. This led to 17 days of jail because of the number of apostolic enforcers in the area. He also had a psychotic break due to mushrooms. Question form the floor was "What kind of mushrooms?" Answer the kind that make you sick. He also talked about how a contact was out for his life. In encountered the hit man that drove one of those old caddies with the huge seats in the back.
So the witness continues. The minister was walking a fine line in working this witness so as not to draw conclusions or allow others to judge in the process. I think the mode is to get crediablity for the witness and then draw them back to how their life has changed with the religious presence in his life.
Does kind of message work anymore? Are we over this assault? Do really care enough to change out life because of it? Is doing this in a 6am Starbuck's make it more effective as an outreach? Have our old institutions changed enough to be effective to our modern lives? How do other religions do this sort of thing?
Weigh in readers.. hit the comment button and tell me what you think.
: ) Pat
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
MR. BEAN
I picked up the mail this morning (from yesterday at the house), In the mailbox was an Ebay purchase I had made some time ago. It finally came. Its a 3 volume DVD set. Rowan Atkinson is Mr. Bean.
This guy is absolutely the Charlie Chaplin of the modern world. Not much dialog.. just visual humor. What I like about him is the you really don't feel sorry for him like you do Jerry Lewis when he does his visual humor. Mr. Bean seems to go crookedly through the world and still succeed. I think that this is what Reza likes about Monk.
I watched the first part this morning. One part was about test taking. He studied Trig and the test was Calculus. So he needs to cheat from his neighbor. At the end it appears that he could have taken the trig test instead. The second one was about disrobing at the beach..He put his suit on over his pants and then took his pants off under it so that he wouldn't have to reveal in front of a sunbather. In reality at the end we find out the sunbather is blind.
Have a great day!
Pat
This guy is absolutely the Charlie Chaplin of the modern world. Not much dialog.. just visual humor. What I like about him is the you really don't feel sorry for him like you do Jerry Lewis when he does his visual humor. Mr. Bean seems to go crookedly through the world and still succeed. I think that this is what Reza likes about Monk.
I watched the first part this morning. One part was about test taking. He studied Trig and the test was Calculus. So he needs to cheat from his neighbor. At the end it appears that he could have taken the trig test instead. The second one was about disrobing at the beach..He put his suit on over his pants and then took his pants off under it so that he wouldn't have to reveal in front of a sunbather. In reality at the end we find out the sunbather is blind.
Have a great day!
Pat
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Expedition picks up a screw
I was leaving the school parking lot this afternoon. I colleague pointed out that I had a flat tire. Sure enough, staring me in the eye was a tin colored square headed screw was embedded into my front right tire of my 1999 Ford Expedition.
I called AAA and in 30 minutes the tow truck driver arrived and changed the tire with my spare from under the truck and confirmed that I was "screwed."
I drove the truck down to Costco. They reversed the process of the spare and the tire and repaired the tire for free withing another hour. I guess I was unscrewed at that point.
So much for the after school time. Hot dog and pizza from Costco for dinner. I also picked up a 40 dollar DVD player for my classroom. And treasury of Love a three disc CD collection from Time Life.
Pat
I called AAA and in 30 minutes the tow truck driver arrived and changed the tire with my spare from under the truck and confirmed that I was "screwed."
I drove the truck down to Costco. They reversed the process of the spare and the tire and repaired the tire for free withing another hour. I guess I was unscrewed at that point.
So much for the after school time. Hot dog and pizza from Costco for dinner. I also picked up a 40 dollar DVD player for my classroom. And treasury of Love a three disc CD collection from Time Life.
Pat
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Parental Visit
Mom and Dad came over for a visit today. They live 2 hours a way in Morgan Hill. DAd got up today and decided that he wanted to come over and see me and the construction job. They he set about to make it happen.
They hosted a lunch at hometown. Mike drove them over. We had a nice conversation and had a chance to tour the addition. Mikie took some photos.. so even though I am steadfast about not adding photos to this blog.. linzi has my camera.. ha.. Soon there will be photos of this endeavor in someone's ficka account.
Mike and Bob had flown down to San Diego to see Acacia in her new digs at UCSD. It was a meet and greet with the parents..a chance to breakfast with the management and see their missing kids.
Acacia is doing well and will continue as soon as her bad cold lifts. She has figured out how to get antibiotics in the collegiate setting. She is still working in her 8 am class, calculus for non engineer types. According to her many have come, and many have dropped out.
Bob had a game he was coaching on Saturday and had to be at the practice on Sunday. So he couldn't join the entourage. Dad had some photos to show of his most recent trip to Colorado. The had some time to fish Crystal lake and had a couple of nice strikes. He has been working on some older photos too of the Gardner clan.
This is the week that both high schools, Golden Valley and Merced High square off in football against each other. Merced has been getting ready to "can the cougar" for the last couple of weeks.
I will have a chance to focus on my artic kids this week around the negotiation session on the 24th of October and the dental appointment for cleaning on the 25th at 4 o'clock.
Last week I heard from a former TA in my speech classes. She has been attending Chico Sate and is about to graduate. She has been applying to grad schools for Speech path. She isn't sure which age level she is interested in yet. Its kind of neat that she wants to get into this field. Kelly would caution her that I could sell ice boxes to eskimos. So be careful about the enthusiasm for the field.
I am proud that my sister has followed me into this field. She is a wonderful therapist and the uncreative will soon be able to tap into her strength and understand how to do a few things in a more creative way. It is wonderful that she is getting her Phd to lend some credibilty to her force. Way to go sis!
Have a great week
: )
Pat
They hosted a lunch at hometown. Mike drove them over. We had a nice conversation and had a chance to tour the addition. Mikie took some photos.. so even though I am steadfast about not adding photos to this blog.. linzi has my camera.. ha.. Soon there will be photos of this endeavor in someone's ficka account.
Mike and Bob had flown down to San Diego to see Acacia in her new digs at UCSD. It was a meet and greet with the parents..a chance to breakfast with the management and see their missing kids.
Acacia is doing well and will continue as soon as her bad cold lifts. She has figured out how to get antibiotics in the collegiate setting. She is still working in her 8 am class, calculus for non engineer types. According to her many have come, and many have dropped out.
Bob had a game he was coaching on Saturday and had to be at the practice on Sunday. So he couldn't join the entourage. Dad had some photos to show of his most recent trip to Colorado. The had some time to fish Crystal lake and had a couple of nice strikes. He has been working on some older photos too of the Gardner clan.
This is the week that both high schools, Golden Valley and Merced High square off in football against each other. Merced has been getting ready to "can the cougar" for the last couple of weeks.
I will have a chance to focus on my artic kids this week around the negotiation session on the 24th of October and the dental appointment for cleaning on the 25th at 4 o'clock.
Last week I heard from a former TA in my speech classes. She has been attending Chico Sate and is about to graduate. She has been applying to grad schools for Speech path. She isn't sure which age level she is interested in yet. Its kind of neat that she wants to get into this field. Kelly would caution her that I could sell ice boxes to eskimos. So be careful about the enthusiasm for the field.
I am proud that my sister has followed me into this field. She is a wonderful therapist and the uncreative will soon be able to tap into her strength and understand how to do a few things in a more creative way. It is wonderful that she is getting her Phd to lend some credibilty to her force. Way to go sis!
Have a great week
: )
Pat
Fall Weather
Its a beautiful fall day in the valley.
No wind. The air is warmed by the sun but the earth isn't. So wisps of warmth surround you and make you feel like a cat sunning on the floor in front of a sliding glass window.
The walk was a little later today. Starbucks was really busy. They all know my order and get my spoon and my to here cup.
Mom and Dad are coming over with? Mikie? Primarily to look at the new construction and eat at the hometown at 1..
Sue is not doing well today. It hard for her to get to the bathroom with her walker.. so she is out. We have plans to go to a rhuematologist on November 1st. She thinks that she will need an MRI before that to take if this injury persists. Her thinking is that she will need the other knee done. She wants to wait until school is out this summer as we all know its a big darn deal.
I am listening on my walks in and in low light situations to Ruso's new book The Book of Sighs. He wrote the Empire Falls. So far it is pretty good.
Have a great Sunday
Pat
Latest Starbuck's free songs are Alice Russell and Rogue Wave.
No wind. The air is warmed by the sun but the earth isn't. So wisps of warmth surround you and make you feel like a cat sunning on the floor in front of a sliding glass window.
The walk was a little later today. Starbucks was really busy. They all know my order and get my spoon and my to here cup.
Mom and Dad are coming over with? Mikie? Primarily to look at the new construction and eat at the hometown at 1..
Sue is not doing well today. It hard for her to get to the bathroom with her walker.. so she is out. We have plans to go to a rhuematologist on November 1st. She thinks that she will need an MRI before that to take if this injury persists. Her thinking is that she will need the other knee done. She wants to wait until school is out this summer as we all know its a big darn deal.
I am listening on my walks in and in low light situations to Ruso's new book The Book of Sighs. He wrote the Empire Falls. So far it is pretty good.
Have a great Sunday
Pat
Latest Starbuck's free songs are Alice Russell and Rogue Wave.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
sycophantic- Word for today
From Imperial Life in the Green Zone. page 72 by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
In the first several months in Bagdad, Bremer had no formal deputy. Although he brought along three veteran diplomats to serve as advisors-one of them, retired officer McManaway, was an old friend, and another Hume Horan, was one of the State Department's foremost Arabists- their roles were soon eclipsed by a coterie of sychophantic young aides who rarely challenged Bremer's decisions...
Definition: bootlicker.. someone that will flatter to gain influence
Warning: soapbox statement ahead:
This is not what the administration had in mind when they tried to sell the American people Compassionate Conservative agendas. This is what the American people got with Bush and will get with every other Republican currently running for president. Carl Rove.. Enron.. it says it all.
Out
Pat
In the first several months in Bagdad, Bremer had no formal deputy. Although he brought along three veteran diplomats to serve as advisors-one of them, retired officer McManaway, was an old friend, and another Hume Horan, was one of the State Department's foremost Arabists- their roles were soon eclipsed by a coterie of sychophantic young aides who rarely challenged Bremer's decisions...
Definition: bootlicker.. someone that will flatter to gain influence
Warning: soapbox statement ahead:
This is not what the administration had in mind when they tried to sell the American people Compassionate Conservative agendas. This is what the American people got with Bush and will get with every other Republican currently running for president. Carl Rove.. Enron.. it says it all.
Out
Pat
Friday, October 19, 2007
Orion's belt
It was really good to see Orion's belt this morning. The sky is clear and it looks like a great Friday.
The students really like this movie.. Larger than Life. They want me to play a little more in the breaks.. no
It takes a lot of interpretation for them to get out of their usual mode of watching a movie and move to film as literature mode. Movies are great for teaching prediction (a simple higher level skill) and plot organization (sequencing).
Thanks for the comments on the blog. Its nice to know there is an audience out there.. even if many of you would rather, as my sister would say.. lurk.We have more than a 1000 peaks so far. I know some of you check a couple of times a day at work or at home.
They have the new jetted tub ready to install in the old house. Sue is ready to just stay in the apt. which means that progress can continue in the remodel. You cannot make progress until you are tired of it.
We are now negotiating the prospect of putting wood laminate over the entire house. I like the Brazilian cherry. It is a warmer color than the oak and has a hint of red in it. Of course the bathrooms and the laundry room would be tile instead.
Talking to Tony the contractor, the mysterious green pipe under the slab floor was an old water line and not a gas line.. as it should have been... being painted green and all. The PGnE man told him to cut it at his own risk. He finally did. A massive gas explosion was not something that he wanted to risk.. So everything turned out okay and progress can continue.
So far the only real loss has been the freezer. The braker was off for the weekend and a couple of days.. Freezer food is gone. I guess we won't have any kindergarten chickens...... The foreman was contrite.. but its a chance to start all over. I like a freezer without a history.
Have a great day
Pat
The Starbuck song of the day.. Alice Smith's New Religion
The students really like this movie.. Larger than Life. They want me to play a little more in the breaks.. no
It takes a lot of interpretation for them to get out of their usual mode of watching a movie and move to film as literature mode. Movies are great for teaching prediction (a simple higher level skill) and plot organization (sequencing).
Thanks for the comments on the blog. Its nice to know there is an audience out there.. even if many of you would rather, as my sister would say.. lurk.We have more than a 1000 peaks so far. I know some of you check a couple of times a day at work or at home.
They have the new jetted tub ready to install in the old house. Sue is ready to just stay in the apt. which means that progress can continue in the remodel. You cannot make progress until you are tired of it.
We are now negotiating the prospect of putting wood laminate over the entire house. I like the Brazilian cherry. It is a warmer color than the oak and has a hint of red in it. Of course the bathrooms and the laundry room would be tile instead.
Talking to Tony the contractor, the mysterious green pipe under the slab floor was an old water line and not a gas line.. as it should have been... being painted green and all. The PGnE man told him to cut it at his own risk. He finally did. A massive gas explosion was not something that he wanted to risk.. So everything turned out okay and progress can continue.
So far the only real loss has been the freezer. The braker was off for the weekend and a couple of days.. Freezer food is gone. I guess we won't have any kindergarten chickens...... The foreman was contrite.. but its a chance to start all over. I like a freezer without a history.
Have a great day
Pat
The Starbuck song of the day.. Alice Smith's New Religion
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Parents a no show
Grade night at the old school house and no one cares.
Not a single parent arrived to challenge my grades. I did watch a couple of teachers get limb from pork chopped after the student apparently lied to their parents regarding grades in English. Kids thought that they were getting Bs.. no Fs instead. Sorry cannot be eligible for girls basketball this quarter because of an f in math too.
I had one class of 8 students where all of them got As.
We just started a movie this week. The movie is "Larger than Life." with Bill Murray. It is about a motivational speaker that inherits an elephant from his father the clown. It gives us a chance to talk about logistics, conductors, and a few expressions such as ,"step on it." The elephant literally stepped on Jack's phone. Jack is played by Bill Murry. It has a scene from Johnson's Corner in Colorado and uses Fresno airport to represent San Diego's at the end of the movie.
Methodology is show 5 minutes of the movie. Explain what is going on. Predict what will happen next. Ask 5 questions. If the class gets three of them right we move on. If they miss three questions we repeat.. with new questions.
Have a great day.
Pat
Not a single parent arrived to challenge my grades. I did watch a couple of teachers get limb from pork chopped after the student apparently lied to their parents regarding grades in English. Kids thought that they were getting Bs.. no Fs instead. Sorry cannot be eligible for girls basketball this quarter because of an f in math too.
I had one class of 8 students where all of them got As.
We just started a movie this week. The movie is "Larger than Life." with Bill Murray. It is about a motivational speaker that inherits an elephant from his father the clown. It gives us a chance to talk about logistics, conductors, and a few expressions such as ,"step on it." The elephant literally stepped on Jack's phone. Jack is played by Bill Murry. It has a scene from Johnson's Corner in Colorado and uses Fresno airport to represent San Diego's at the end of the movie.
Methodology is show 5 minutes of the movie. Explain what is going on. Predict what will happen next. Ask 5 questions. If the class gets three of them right we move on. If they miss three questions we repeat.. with new questions.
Have a great day.
Pat
Adding to the Walk
The mornings are considerably colder. I took a nap when I got home yesterday. Sue was worried. She wanted me to check it out with the home doctor. What it translated to was an earlier wake up this morning (I went to bed about the same time). I decided to lengthen my walk to 2 miles with the added time. My previous walk was 1 1/2 miles (flat). I have missed 3 mornings in three months. People have commented that I am looking flatter. Sue said that I am not breaking pants buttons.. so it must be working. At the last check up I was down 10 pounds... so up the ante when I can and see if I can improve upon the loss.
Tonight is report card night. An artifact of voucher scare. The schools put in this kind of event to let the public know that we were working with their kids..duh and that they had access to us. It is way archaic now that the people that come have e-mail access to teachers and in many cases can see the grades as they unfold on the on line gradebooks that many teachers in the district maintain (I don't)
In the first quarter all teachers and counselors are required to attend the report card night. First quarter report cards are issued to parents after school into the evening (7 o'clock.) They feed the teachers after school and we sit behind our name tag ready to answer questions regarding the first quarter grades.
For me it not a problem since most of my students parents don't come to school...ever. I am usually sandwiched between two teachers that teach AP English and AP biology. The lines get very long for these teachers.Many of these conversations boil down to.. he has never received a C in his life.. or I am so glad that you are his teacher. The cafeteria gets very noisy.. there is no privacy.. parents hear the litany of other parents issues and it is long after teaching all day.
You can imagine what Sue thinks of it.
Yesterday they gave the PSAT to the entire school population.. except to Special Day Class students and mine.
I danced in front of the same 5 students for 4 hours. Some people call me a ham others call the gift of BS. : ) What ever it is I come by it naturally.
Have a great day
Today's free Starbuck's song is from Brandi Carlile.. Turpentine,
Pat
Tonight is report card night. An artifact of voucher scare. The schools put in this kind of event to let the public know that we were working with their kids..duh and that they had access to us. It is way archaic now that the people that come have e-mail access to teachers and in many cases can see the grades as they unfold on the on line gradebooks that many teachers in the district maintain (I don't)
In the first quarter all teachers and counselors are required to attend the report card night. First quarter report cards are issued to parents after school into the evening (7 o'clock.) They feed the teachers after school and we sit behind our name tag ready to answer questions regarding the first quarter grades.
For me it not a problem since most of my students parents don't come to school...ever. I am usually sandwiched between two teachers that teach AP English and AP biology. The lines get very long for these teachers.Many of these conversations boil down to.. he has never received a C in his life.. or I am so glad that you are his teacher. The cafeteria gets very noisy.. there is no privacy.. parents hear the litany of other parents issues and it is long after teaching all day.
You can imagine what Sue thinks of it.
Yesterday they gave the PSAT to the entire school population.. except to Special Day Class students and mine.
I danced in front of the same 5 students for 4 hours. Some people call me a ham others call the gift of BS. : ) What ever it is I come by it naturally.
Have a great day
Today's free Starbuck's song is from Brandi Carlile.. Turpentine,
Pat
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
fin de siecle
The first time I have come across this expression. Do you know what it means? In the dictionary it means the turn of the century. The meaning coming from a turn of the century where life was less exciting and pleasurable.
The way it is used most frequently is to denote decadence...
I have started to read a very interesting book in which it appears.. Imperial in the Emerald City. I just got it at Costco. It is about Iraq and being inside Iraq's green zone. It has won or been in the running for several prestigious book awards. So how was it used in this book?
In the prolog
... A blond Californian in his early twenties was creating PowerPoint presentations to send back to Washington showing that the Americans were making progress, that life was improving by the day.
These were exceptions. Most people in the palace had simply given up, seeking instead the solace and fin de siécle merriment of the pool..
So there you go.. something new.. at least to me.
Pat
The way it is used most frequently is to denote decadence...
I have started to read a very interesting book in which it appears.. Imperial in the Emerald City. I just got it at Costco. It is about Iraq and being inside Iraq's green zone. It has won or been in the running for several prestigious book awards. So how was it used in this book?
In the prolog
... A blond Californian in his early twenties was creating PowerPoint presentations to send back to Washington showing that the Americans were making progress, that life was improving by the day.
These were exceptions. Most people in the palace had simply given up, seeking instead the solace and fin de siécle merriment of the pool..
So there you go.. something new.. at least to me.
Pat
Starbucks Free Songs
Starbucks, yeah I know, other coffee shops are better yada yada yada. (And I agree.. go to Pete's if you have one.. I don't) is passing out free songs on ITunes everyday. You get a free card everyday that has a number to redeem the free song. The key word is redeem. In the itunes store there is a button that is designated as redeem. Hit the button and type in your card code and son of a gun the song you have on your card downloads to your computer. I then take the songs and put them in a playlist called starbucks redeemed. Some stores have all the ones they have released out so that you may catch up.
So who are they giving away?
Angie Stone
Patti Scialfa
John Fogerty
Herbie Hancock
Emily King
Mavis Staples
A Fine Frenzy
Band of Horses
John Legend
Gloia Estefan
So far my favorites are Mavis Staples.. John Legend, Herbbie Hancock and Gloria Estefan.
What is cool is that these are current songs and a chance to widen your musical bandwith. There is not one in the group so far that is so outrageous that I wouldn't want to listen to it more than one time.
Pat
Song of the Day today, October 17th is Annie Lennox's Dark Road
So who are they giving away?
Angie Stone
Patti Scialfa
John Fogerty
Herbie Hancock
Emily King
Mavis Staples
A Fine Frenzy
Band of Horses
John Legend
Gloia Estefan
So far my favorites are Mavis Staples.. John Legend, Herbbie Hancock and Gloria Estefan.
What is cool is that these are current songs and a chance to widen your musical bandwith. There is not one in the group so far that is so outrageous that I wouldn't want to listen to it more than one time.
Pat
Song of the Day today, October 17th is Annie Lennox's Dark Road
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Quarter Grades Due this AM
Its hard to believe but we have been in school for one quarter so far.
I am off early to post grades electronically at both schools. They are due today so that they may be used for Report card night, on Thursday.
On Report Card night all the teachers spend the evening at a noisy cafeteria and defend their grades to "interested parents." It was established to fend off vouchers and the concept that schools are not response to parent needs.
It is a bit outdated since many of the same parents can see the grades in the grade book right after the teacher enters them through electronic means. This is passworded and on the internet.
The teacher's bone of contention is that it is not available for home submission. The teachers have to be at school to post on the grade book.
So I will go an be served dinner and no one will come and ask what grades I am posting.. oh well
I am off early to post grades electronically at both schools. They are due today so that they may be used for Report card night, on Thursday.
On Report Card night all the teachers spend the evening at a noisy cafeteria and defend their grades to "interested parents." It was established to fend off vouchers and the concept that schools are not response to parent needs.
It is a bit outdated since many of the same parents can see the grades in the grade book right after the teacher enters them through electronic means. This is passworded and on the internet.
The teacher's bone of contention is that it is not available for home submission. The teachers have to be at school to post on the grade book.
So I will go an be served dinner and no one will come and ask what grades I am posting.. oh well
Monday, October 15, 2007
LIfe in the Laundermat
It sounds good on paper.
Take all of your laundry use their machines and get it done all at once.
When the raider's game start to go sour.. which was early in the second quarter, they were playing the San Diego Chargers, I hauled the equivlent of 9 loads to the laundermat. I used three machines which ran 3 loads each and 9 dollars in quarters. They were done in 28 minutes. Then I waited for 40 minutes for a dryer to be free. One load's product was not going to be dried by the other two needed separate dryers because they were so large. There was a backup as people would pull from dryers a few clothes at a time and fold them on the tables provided. 6 dryers were broken. People were complaining that some were not very effective. The ones I finally got were plenty hot.
The kid action is interesting. There is not much for a kid to do there. They chase around a little. One kid at a gameboy. I brought my video IPod and caught up the the Alan Alda Scientific American series that I purchased on ITunes. It was about the digging around the colonies looking for evidence of how the slaves lived. What they ate and what kind of ties that maintained with their African heritage.
The cold load is hung and drying in the walk in closet.
Sue has been hankering for some winter clothes. I drove out to the storage and picked up the bins and we made some switches of summer clothes for winter ones. Now I just have to drive the summer ones out and get them in the storage.
I will be glad when our construction is over and the laundry can be done at our house.
Pat
Take all of your laundry use their machines and get it done all at once.
When the raider's game start to go sour.. which was early in the second quarter, they were playing the San Diego Chargers, I hauled the equivlent of 9 loads to the laundermat. I used three machines which ran 3 loads each and 9 dollars in quarters. They were done in 28 minutes. Then I waited for 40 minutes for a dryer to be free. One load's product was not going to be dried by the other two needed separate dryers because they were so large. There was a backup as people would pull from dryers a few clothes at a time and fold them on the tables provided. 6 dryers were broken. People were complaining that some were not very effective. The ones I finally got were plenty hot.
The kid action is interesting. There is not much for a kid to do there. They chase around a little. One kid at a gameboy. I brought my video IPod and caught up the the Alan Alda Scientific American series that I purchased on ITunes. It was about the digging around the colonies looking for evidence of how the slaves lived. What they ate and what kind of ties that maintained with their African heritage.
The cold load is hung and drying in the walk in closet.
Sue has been hankering for some winter clothes. I drove out to the storage and picked up the bins and we made some switches of summer clothes for winter ones. Now I just have to drive the summer ones out and get them in the storage.
I will be glad when our construction is over and the laundry can be done at our house.
Pat
Sunday, October 14, 2007
NEGOTIATIONS-Monday October 15
We are ready to talk evaluations at the table today. Management wants a new set of forms based upon "California Teaching Standards". They want to include all of standards and evaluate theme in the cycle. They need to define for us what they mean by a cycle. The summary evaluations are based upon the teacher observation forms and other data. We want only that which is observable. We really like the forms that we have been using for the last 15 years.
I think that they want to make sure that all teachers are using the State Standards for student learning. They also want other things that are less observable. A new form for staff development is also on their docket. Currently the administrators are doing what is in the contract and a lot of other stuff that they think would lead to the items in the contract. This results in many items and extra work for teachers. Things like mission statements are being required, HR says they are not mandatory. Who wants to risk a less than grand evaluation by blowing the whistle on that? They are also doing walk throughs with paper, and calibration sessions where up to 4 administrators show up to evaluate a teacher and then they compare. Apparently they don't think that this sort of thing is disruptive in a classroom setting.
I had a walk through in a 6th period class on Friday. One girl was so embarrased to have the adminstrator there she tried to zip up her hooded sweatshirt so that he couldn't see her face. She is an African American Girl 5'11 and 200# plus. Kind of hard to hide.. esperically when she only had two other classmates..
Management sees evaluations as a chance to compliment the teacher for doing such a good job. No permanent teachers have been let go for at least the last three years. So why are we worried?
Me worry? I am voting for Alfred E Newman!...
: )
I think that they want to make sure that all teachers are using the State Standards for student learning. They also want other things that are less observable. A new form for staff development is also on their docket. Currently the administrators are doing what is in the contract and a lot of other stuff that they think would lead to the items in the contract. This results in many items and extra work for teachers. Things like mission statements are being required, HR says they are not mandatory. Who wants to risk a less than grand evaluation by blowing the whistle on that? They are also doing walk throughs with paper, and calibration sessions where up to 4 administrators show up to evaluate a teacher and then they compare. Apparently they don't think that this sort of thing is disruptive in a classroom setting.
I had a walk through in a 6th period class on Friday. One girl was so embarrased to have the adminstrator there she tried to zip up her hooded sweatshirt so that he couldn't see her face. She is an African American Girl 5'11 and 200# plus. Kind of hard to hide.. esperically when she only had two other classmates..
Management sees evaluations as a chance to compliment the teacher for doing such a good job. No permanent teachers have been let go for at least the last three years. So why are we worried?
Me worry? I am voting for Alfred E Newman!...
: )
Grandma Moses and Sacto
On Saturday Sue and I headed up to Sacramento to see Linzi and Sean. We were invited to see the Grandma Moses exhibit in the Crocker museum.
We took Linzi and her friend skillet to a very nice breakfast in the downtown area. We ate outdoors at the garage and had some great food.
After breakfast we visited with Sean and their cats (Nigel and Nermes) nine floors up in the downtown Mariott Residence in. Its a snazzy spot, with granite countertops, a cooking stove (no oven except for microwave)and a bed to die for. Sue hit the bed and there was no museum in her immediate future.
The Crocker museum is a wonderful place to see an exhibit because it is an old fully restored late 19th century mansion. Everything has molding and the design allows you to get up close to the paintings and see the paint strokes and cracks.
It was a wonderful exhibit that had many paintings from various eras. It should that she was an innovator with her art in needle work and ceramic tiles as well as the classic oil paintings. Most of the paintings subjects were horse era Vermont. Many of them were of different seasons. She painted 1500 paintings in her lifetime. About 60 pieces of her work were on display. My favorite paintings were the wedding scene and her ancestral home. The wedding scene was great because it depicted people in various social connections at a wedding. Some people were looking out the window, others were talking romantically while still others were laughing out loud.
Before we left, Linzi and Sean took us out to their favorite Sushi restaurant. I am not usually a tuna fan, but they had Tora which was divine and one that was was briefly seared with a white sauce.. yum. Linzi ordered a Ciao Bella which was fabulous and the Salmon season provided a Salmon shishimi order that was great. Sue, not a fan of Sushi got a wonderful Bento box of Tempura shrimp and veggies. We were back home at 10.
Great Day!
Love
Pat
We took Linzi and her friend skillet to a very nice breakfast in the downtown area. We ate outdoors at the garage and had some great food.
After breakfast we visited with Sean and their cats (Nigel and Nermes) nine floors up in the downtown Mariott Residence in. Its a snazzy spot, with granite countertops, a cooking stove (no oven except for microwave)and a bed to die for. Sue hit the bed and there was no museum in her immediate future.
The Crocker museum is a wonderful place to see an exhibit because it is an old fully restored late 19th century mansion. Everything has molding and the design allows you to get up close to the paintings and see the paint strokes and cracks.
It was a wonderful exhibit that had many paintings from various eras. It should that she was an innovator with her art in needle work and ceramic tiles as well as the classic oil paintings. Most of the paintings subjects were horse era Vermont. Many of them were of different seasons. She painted 1500 paintings in her lifetime. About 60 pieces of her work were on display. My favorite paintings were the wedding scene and her ancestral home. The wedding scene was great because it depicted people in various social connections at a wedding. Some people were looking out the window, others were talking romantically while still others were laughing out loud.
Before we left, Linzi and Sean took us out to their favorite Sushi restaurant. I am not usually a tuna fan, but they had Tora which was divine and one that was was briefly seared with a white sauce.. yum. Linzi ordered a Ciao Bella which was fabulous and the Salmon season provided a Salmon shishimi order that was great. Sue, not a fan of Sushi got a wonderful Bento box of Tempura shrimp and veggies. We were back home at 10.
Great Day!
Love
Pat
Friday, October 12, 2007
First Pomegrante
Tonight Sue and I shared our first pomegranate off our front yard tree. I almost forgot how to eat it. There are 12 on the little shrub about 4feet tall by 4 feet wide. I am working on keeping it short. There is a tendency for them to get considerably taller.
It was very sweet, which was pleasing to me as I wasn't sure that it was going to be ripe. Someone told me that when they start to split it is time to harvest them. this one was just starting to split and was the size of an oversized softball. I started to peel it like an orange, it just wasn't going to make it. I got out a knife and split it into thirds and wow, it was great. I am sure Kelly and Reza are laughing at this commentary. We will repeat this fairly soon with the 11 that are left.
Tonight it is raining cats and dogs and Golden Valley High School is having their homecoming... alas no dance that follows. Lucy is concerned regarding the fireworks that come with it.
This morning our little addition was inspected by the inspectors before Tony could continue with the roofing materials. The new roof line is established and Tony said that it will be torched soon. The slope is not steep enough to keep the shingles on the new addition from cupping and causing problems, so the roofing material is bonded with a torch tool to keep it from cupping and allowing the rain to get through. The foundation is poured and the sides already show where the windows are going. They had to use a concrete saw to cut into the foundation in the bathroom so that it could be extended to drain the tub, the new toilet, shower, and the washing machine. I reminded him that I have a gas dryer. He said that would require another inspection. He knows that gas appliances save money as he was with a low income unit of the county program that would replace electric dryers with gas ones and other applicances. The duct work for the new air conditioning unit (5ton) is also nearing completion. We are still pretty exposed to the elements. I am glad tonight that we are in a nice warm apartment. Only Geogie, the white manx cat didn't make it to alternative housing. After two nights of howling he was repatriated with his house in its questionable condition. Nigel is off to Linzi and Sean's, and Lucy is nicely acclimated in the new apartment.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Pat
It was very sweet, which was pleasing to me as I wasn't sure that it was going to be ripe. Someone told me that when they start to split it is time to harvest them. this one was just starting to split and was the size of an oversized softball. I started to peel it like an orange, it just wasn't going to make it. I got out a knife and split it into thirds and wow, it was great. I am sure Kelly and Reza are laughing at this commentary. We will repeat this fairly soon with the 11 that are left.
Tonight it is raining cats and dogs and Golden Valley High School is having their homecoming... alas no dance that follows. Lucy is concerned regarding the fireworks that come with it.
This morning our little addition was inspected by the inspectors before Tony could continue with the roofing materials. The new roof line is established and Tony said that it will be torched soon. The slope is not steep enough to keep the shingles on the new addition from cupping and causing problems, so the roofing material is bonded with a torch tool to keep it from cupping and allowing the rain to get through. The foundation is poured and the sides already show where the windows are going. They had to use a concrete saw to cut into the foundation in the bathroom so that it could be extended to drain the tub, the new toilet, shower, and the washing machine. I reminded him that I have a gas dryer. He said that would require another inspection. He knows that gas appliances save money as he was with a low income unit of the county program that would replace electric dryers with gas ones and other applicances. The duct work for the new air conditioning unit (5ton) is also nearing completion. We are still pretty exposed to the elements. I am glad tonight that we are in a nice warm apartment. Only Geogie, the white manx cat didn't make it to alternative housing. After two nights of howling he was repatriated with his house in its questionable condition. Nigel is off to Linzi and Sean's, and Lucy is nicely acclimated in the new apartment.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Pat
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A Day at Apple Computer
It is amazing what one school board member can do.
One school board member from our district, a graphic designer by occupation, thought that it was wrong not to have Apples in our district.So.. he engineered support from a group primarily behind the UC campus coming to Merced group.. a sub set of the local Chamber of Commerce to get a group of the district's most savvy tech administrators and District people including the our State Senator Denham to spend a day in Cupertino to look at the technology that fires the lives of many students in our classes. It was hosted by Apple and a nonprofit organization called 21st Century Partnership.
There point was that schools bought technology to do business tasks. Essentially a push technology, while our current needs are more pull technology. We are in a world of too much information rather than one where we need to acquiring info. We need to teach students the skills to sort out and validate and create rather just gather. We were introduced to a group of new terms that sort of blew apart some of the conceptions of the business people and the educators.. more on that later..when I drag my notes in from the car.
The group of 46 traveled by chartered bus to Cupertino... and the business community paid for a dinner at Wool Growers in Los Banos.
I got a chance to sit down and chat with the board member for an extended period of time and at lunch got to do the same with another member. What an opportunity. The technology was cool too. I didn't find a single business member or an educator that had a blog. Most were wondering why anyone would text message when they could e-mail. That was where I was last year.
Have a great Wednesday. My students love Wednesday (mot) its writing day.
Take care
Pat
One school board member from our district, a graphic designer by occupation, thought that it was wrong not to have Apples in our district.So.. he engineered support from a group primarily behind the UC campus coming to Merced group.. a sub set of the local Chamber of Commerce to get a group of the district's most savvy tech administrators and District people including the our State Senator Denham to spend a day in Cupertino to look at the technology that fires the lives of many students in our classes. It was hosted by Apple and a nonprofit organization called 21st Century Partnership.
There point was that schools bought technology to do business tasks. Essentially a push technology, while our current needs are more pull technology. We are in a world of too much information rather than one where we need to acquiring info. We need to teach students the skills to sort out and validate and create rather just gather. We were introduced to a group of new terms that sort of blew apart some of the conceptions of the business people and the educators.. more on that later..when I drag my notes in from the car.
The group of 46 traveled by chartered bus to Cupertino... and the business community paid for a dinner at Wool Growers in Los Banos.
I got a chance to sit down and chat with the board member for an extended period of time and at lunch got to do the same with another member. What an opportunity. The technology was cool too. I didn't find a single business member or an educator that had a blog. Most were wondering why anyone would text message when they could e-mail. That was where I was last year.
Have a great Wednesday. My students love Wednesday (mot) its writing day.
Take care
Pat
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Old G Homecomeing
Kelly wanted me to write about Homecoming when I was in High School. I think that I should also share Sue's thoughts.
Homecoming was a big deal as a social event. People got corsages for the girls in Colorado. Big pom pom mums with colored ribbons with a year on it, and usually tiny gold football trinkets that hung from it. Sue said that girls always dressed up for homecoming and it was usually a new dress. Couples would go to the game together, out to dinner and then to the dance.
The dance always had an upper level garage band. This band on the minimum could play the Beatles songbook, some CCR, some RnB like the temptations. Some Rolling stones and Roy Orbison and Everly Bros if the band had some good vocalists. There was always a cake and a punchbowl supervised by the chaperones. There would not be hangers on trying to get into the dance for free. Certainly we didn't need a police officer and four teacher chaperones and two administrators.
Dancing was hot and heavy but not explicit. People would leave the dance sweaty. This was different from the sock hop generation before us. We were certainly post Fonzie.
In Junior High and in the first year of high school. there were a number of dancing that were novelty dances that really took off. Many had certain choreography. The song of hundred dances outlines many of these. The Frugg, the surfer, the charlie brown, the pepermint twist, and the stroll. Some of these dances were older than us. but they were still played at dances, It was not unusual to have actual horns and wind instuments in the band, Muscians accurately predicted the end of their era when they said that the synthesizer was going to put them out of business. What they didn't predict was the advent of the DJ, which took the place of all musicians. Also the advent of nonmusical songs.. raps.. or as some would say... the dominence of rhythm and verse.
It seems to me that real melody is starting to creep back into popular music. Lead by the women.
It is really interesting how things have changed. In high school all of the AM songs had equal numbers of vocal songs and instrumental songs on the radio. The format was usually play one vocal and then one instumental. The instrumental component is gone. There are no "Love is Blue" beling played on the radio..
Hope you had a great weekend
Pat
Homecoming was a big deal as a social event. People got corsages for the girls in Colorado. Big pom pom mums with colored ribbons with a year on it, and usually tiny gold football trinkets that hung from it. Sue said that girls always dressed up for homecoming and it was usually a new dress. Couples would go to the game together, out to dinner and then to the dance.
The dance always had an upper level garage band. This band on the minimum could play the Beatles songbook, some CCR, some RnB like the temptations. Some Rolling stones and Roy Orbison and Everly Bros if the band had some good vocalists. There was always a cake and a punchbowl supervised by the chaperones. There would not be hangers on trying to get into the dance for free. Certainly we didn't need a police officer and four teacher chaperones and two administrators.
Dancing was hot and heavy but not explicit. People would leave the dance sweaty. This was different from the sock hop generation before us. We were certainly post Fonzie.
In Junior High and in the first year of high school. there were a number of dancing that were novelty dances that really took off. Many had certain choreography. The song of hundred dances outlines many of these. The Frugg, the surfer, the charlie brown, the pepermint twist, and the stroll. Some of these dances were older than us. but they were still played at dances, It was not unusual to have actual horns and wind instuments in the band, Muscians accurately predicted the end of their era when they said that the synthesizer was going to put them out of business. What they didn't predict was the advent of the DJ, which took the place of all musicians. Also the advent of nonmusical songs.. raps.. or as some would say... the dominence of rhythm and verse.
It seems to me that real melody is starting to creep back into popular music. Lead by the women.
It is really interesting how things have changed. In high school all of the AM songs had equal numbers of vocal songs and instrumental songs on the radio. The format was usually play one vocal and then one instumental. The instrumental component is gone. There are no "Love is Blue" beling played on the radio..
Hope you had a great weekend
Pat
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Dance?
Last night was the big? Homecoming dance at Merced High School. As a chaperone,I arrived promptly at 8:45. No one was there. The other chaperones arrive about 10 min later. The administrator was about a half hour late. The game was delayed because they started with a Freshman game.
So the DJs had a pretty easy gig. They were paid for 4 hours plus set up and they only got serious for one.
What is dance today at a high school. There are only a handful of songs that get everyone on the floor. When these people dance they are very intense for about 30 seconds. Then they just stand around on the floor and talk.
The songs that were most popular, Rape,Soldier Boy/Superman,Crispy,and Where did you get that body? I know my daughters are rolling their eyes or falling off their seats with this account. They know hip hop and dance more than I. The one dance that seems to have a defined movement is the Soldier Boy/Superman. There is a four or five beat horizontal jump and then a forward leaning arabesque when they say superman. We had a couple of dancers that we had to stop because they were too suggestive... way too suggestive. Most dancing was what I would call solo dancing. They were not dancing with someone but rather showing off their quick step moves. The Djs were thankfully not too loud, however they would be too loud for mom and dad.
Only 124 tickets were sold. As of Thursday only 35 had been sold. Nine were sold at the game. None were sold at the door.
So it is with the state of dance...at the high school.
Pat
So the DJs had a pretty easy gig. They were paid for 4 hours plus set up and they only got serious for one.
What is dance today at a high school. There are only a handful of songs that get everyone on the floor. When these people dance they are very intense for about 30 seconds. Then they just stand around on the floor and talk.
The songs that were most popular, Rape,Soldier Boy/Superman,Crispy,and Where did you get that body? I know my daughters are rolling their eyes or falling off their seats with this account. They know hip hop and dance more than I. The one dance that seems to have a defined movement is the Soldier Boy/Superman. There is a four or five beat horizontal jump and then a forward leaning arabesque when they say superman. We had a couple of dancers that we had to stop because they were too suggestive... way too suggestive. Most dancing was what I would call solo dancing. They were not dancing with someone but rather showing off their quick step moves. The Djs were thankfully not too loud, however they would be too loud for mom and dad.
Only 124 tickets were sold. As of Thursday only 35 had been sold. Nine were sold at the game. None were sold at the door.
So it is with the state of dance...at the high school.
Pat
Friday, October 5, 2007
Up and Running er Walking again
The comcast man came while I was at work and Sue was home. We have our TV connected and the high speed internet is working like a charm.
The guy from Fresno, Merced needed extra help had only installed one other mac. I thought that it would go one place but alas.. it didn't so I will be working off a card table between the bathroom and the closet in the bedroom. Thats okay. I had an ethernet cable and pretty much that was all I really needed.
The TV is going to take some time to get used to. The menu-guide is wildly different and what is this on-demand stuff.. and how do you get out of it.. Our only solution is to turn it off and get it restarted. Currently it is not HD despite the fact that I had HD cables ready. I guess I have to go down to the office and beg for an 8 dollar a month interface. Our TV is not as bright as our plasma.. duh. I am looking forward to High Deffing with Reza someday soon.
I actually made a version of chicken morengo last night. We had half the leftovers on low carb penne with canned corn and a slice or two of cantaloupe. Toped the whole thing off with a scoop of mint chip low carb ice cream powered by splenda. What a luxury to cook for yourself. I am really enjoying the gas stove here especially when it comes to boiling water for the noodles.. at least half the time.
Its also amazing what a fresh chicken can provide in homemade meals.
Sue is happy watching her domestic pornography.. home shows on TV.
I am ready to go do my dance duty... hope you had a great Friday.
Love
Pat
The guy from Fresno, Merced needed extra help had only installed one other mac. I thought that it would go one place but alas.. it didn't so I will be working off a card table between the bathroom and the closet in the bedroom. Thats okay. I had an ethernet cable and pretty much that was all I really needed.
The TV is going to take some time to get used to. The menu-guide is wildly different and what is this on-demand stuff.. and how do you get out of it.. Our only solution is to turn it off and get it restarted. Currently it is not HD despite the fact that I had HD cables ready. I guess I have to go down to the office and beg for an 8 dollar a month interface. Our TV is not as bright as our plasma.. duh. I am looking forward to High Deffing with Reza someday soon.
I actually made a version of chicken morengo last night. We had half the leftovers on low carb penne with canned corn and a slice or two of cantaloupe. Toped the whole thing off with a scoop of mint chip low carb ice cream powered by splenda. What a luxury to cook for yourself. I am really enjoying the gas stove here especially when it comes to boiling water for the noodles.. at least half the time.
Its also amazing what a fresh chicken can provide in homemade meals.
Sue is happy watching her domestic pornography.. home shows on TV.
I am ready to go do my dance duty... hope you had a great Friday.
Love
Pat
Off the air
Construction at the house has taken over my internet connection and just about everyting else. We have been habituating Georgie and Lucy at the apt. Nigel, the sweet black maine coon cat is off at Linzi and Seans. Linzi and Sean are off today to Vermaont to see his folks and view the colors. Best of luck.
I only missed one walk day to cat naturalization.
Our construction project is going swimmingly along. New stronger trusses that will hold a 300 pound man are replacing the standard 2X4s at 18inches. The constuction foreman is impressed. The master bedroom is totally gutted as well as the dining room, and kitchen. The foundation and the outside walls are in place.. very exciting.The contractor says that he should have to new roof completed by next Friday..and will be ready for the next installment of cash.
We are about to get Comcasted today. New TV 32inch Vizio HD 720P is in our apt. and will be hooked up today.. I hope from one to five. We are also getting the mac hooked up to their internet broadband connection.
I am the teacher supervisor at the the homecoming dance tonight from 8:45 to midnight. Heather has informed me that this is the one dance that they all come in drunk.. joy. They are now using breathilizers which were not in place when she was going to school however there was talk about it at that time.
Homecoming is quite an event at Merced High. There is a parade downtown, a rally, fireworks at the game, class skits and dance numbers at the game, and the crowning of the king and queen. Usually the king crowned is somebody's little brother as the King has football work to do... hawh hawh hawh. Go for it Orange and Black (Merced High's colors)
I got a nice letter from mom and dad yesterday. We ordered up some ink the last time he was there and he is using it to make a ton of 4x6 prints. It also has a scan feature so that it can print out a print order by circling and reading the ones you wanted to print.
Heather is hard at work with a new assignment. She is the boss at the children's center part. She can still do small group work with them and finds that the raise wasn't as big as she had hoped.. sounds familiar.
I am sending this off at work.. one school I can do this while at another I cannot..
My next entry should be through the comcast system at home.. if all gets installe this afternoon.
Love
Pat
I only missed one walk day to cat naturalization.
Our construction project is going swimmingly along. New stronger trusses that will hold a 300 pound man are replacing the standard 2X4s at 18inches. The constuction foreman is impressed. The master bedroom is totally gutted as well as the dining room, and kitchen. The foundation and the outside walls are in place.. very exciting.The contractor says that he should have to new roof completed by next Friday..and will be ready for the next installment of cash.
We are about to get Comcasted today. New TV 32inch Vizio HD 720P is in our apt. and will be hooked up today.. I hope from one to five. We are also getting the mac hooked up to their internet broadband connection.
I am the teacher supervisor at the the homecoming dance tonight from 8:45 to midnight. Heather has informed me that this is the one dance that they all come in drunk.. joy. They are now using breathilizers which were not in place when she was going to school however there was talk about it at that time.
Homecoming is quite an event at Merced High. There is a parade downtown, a rally, fireworks at the game, class skits and dance numbers at the game, and the crowning of the king and queen. Usually the king crowned is somebody's little brother as the King has football work to do... hawh hawh hawh. Go for it Orange and Black (Merced High's colors)
I got a nice letter from mom and dad yesterday. We ordered up some ink the last time he was there and he is using it to make a ton of 4x6 prints. It also has a scan feature so that it can print out a print order by circling and reading the ones you wanted to print.
Heather is hard at work with a new assignment. She is the boss at the children's center part. She can still do small group work with them and finds that the raise wasn't as big as she had hoped.. sounds familiar.
I am sending this off at work.. one school I can do this while at another I cannot..
My next entry should be through the comcast system at home.. if all gets installe this afternoon.
Love
Pat
Monday, October 1, 2007
Quirkie Talkers on my Playlist
This morning I was running the playlist I call quirky talkers on my walk. The first part of the walk is always noisy so I have to boost the gain as they say.
On my Quirky talkers playlist:
Hot Rod Lincoln
The legend of woolly Swamp
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
A Boy Named Sue
Talk to Me Fiddle
Uneasy Rider 88
Wolf Creek Pass
The Silverton
Uneasy Rider
Convoy
Smoke Smoke Smoke that cigarette
That's What I like about the South
The Pool Shark
Am I missing your favorite? Send me a suggestion in the comment section.
Thanks
Pat
On my Quirky talkers playlist:
Hot Rod Lincoln
The legend of woolly Swamp
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
A Boy Named Sue
Talk to Me Fiddle
Uneasy Rider 88
Wolf Creek Pass
The Silverton
Uneasy Rider
Convoy
Smoke Smoke Smoke that cigarette
That's What I like about the South
The Pool Shark
Am I missing your favorite? Send me a suggestion in the comment section.
Thanks
Pat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)