Sunday afternoon instead of watching those Raiders give the game away.. which of course they did .. 20 something points in the fourth quarter.. we decided to take a little drive.
Sue loves to get out and try to spot some wildlife living along the road. The foothills are really really dry this year. We had a great trip up. We headed up to Snelling. It s a little hydro gold mine town pretty close to us. We decided to go up to Hornitos. Hornitos has an annual pilgrimage of the day of the dead to the top of their hill. Every year people put luminaries up and they walk to honor the dead that used to be buried above ground in oven like arrangements. Hornitos was a big town in the gold rush with nearly 15,000 inhabitants. Today there may be about 35 people that live there.
We drove through town and decided to continue on that road. It is a nice paved road and it was going in the right direction so up we went. It climbed and dipped and everywhere there were the stone fences of the post gold rush era. At the top of one of the hills Sue spotted three deer congregating under the trees. and little further along she said she saw some big birds. I backed up the car and I saw a beautiful wild turkey hen. She claimed that there was another just ahead of that one. What a sight!
We drove into the little way stations of Bear Valley and Mt. Bullion. This was the home base of Murietta. The bandit that robbed the stages full of gold as they headed out of the mills. We were on the big high way..still two lanes Hwy 49.
Our final stop along the way was to the town of Mariposa. There were many businesses not making it since the highway to Yosemite was under construction. We stopped and got a little bit of gas to make sure that we could get home.
The last bit of wildlife Sue noted was a coyote that she spotted on the plains headed in the Central valley from Planada. It looked like it had something in its mouth. Dinner for sure.
Have a great day.
Pat
A written expression of a 65year old plus retired Speech and Language Specialist in the Central Valley of California.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Growing up without TV
For most of my childhood days we did not have a TV at home.
The first TV that I remember was at a neighbor's house in Grand Junction when I was under 5. It was a neighborhood phenomenon. It was black and white and owned by a neighbor who was considerably richer than us. They had a set of twins that was about my age.. Deany and Danny. We had a great time in a little yard preschool pool that has square sides and was probably made of Rubber.. not much plastic at the time.
My goal at that time was to take a long enough nap so that I could join the parents group that met on the nights that Milton Berle was broadcast. The neighbor's hosted TV viewing parties. Sadly I never made it, and knowing now about those shows and its content it is clear to figure out that it was a good thing that I was not a napper. Milton was always flirting with the gender issue, and to see a man dressed up in dress was truly funny in that era.
I remember Winky Dink however. You sent in a couple of dollars and got back a kit that you could interact with the TV by coloring on the screen with crayons and a screen protector.
There was brother Buzz with his rules for being a good kid. This was all pre.. teach Pat to read.
In the first grade I was not reading. Dad and mom made the monumental decision that they would forgo their entertainment to insure that I would read. The Tv was discarded and disabled.
I learned to read.. and the rest is history.. as they say. More later on what this did to peer interaction.
Love
Pat
The first TV that I remember was at a neighbor's house in Grand Junction when I was under 5. It was a neighborhood phenomenon. It was black and white and owned by a neighbor who was considerably richer than us. They had a set of twins that was about my age.. Deany and Danny. We had a great time in a little yard preschool pool that has square sides and was probably made of Rubber.. not much plastic at the time.
My goal at that time was to take a long enough nap so that I could join the parents group that met on the nights that Milton Berle was broadcast. The neighbor's hosted TV viewing parties. Sadly I never made it, and knowing now about those shows and its content it is clear to figure out that it was a good thing that I was not a napper. Milton was always flirting with the gender issue, and to see a man dressed up in dress was truly funny in that era.
I remember Winky Dink however. You sent in a couple of dollars and got back a kit that you could interact with the TV by coloring on the screen with crayons and a screen protector.
There was brother Buzz with his rules for being a good kid. This was all pre.. teach Pat to read.
In the first grade I was not reading. Dad and mom made the monumental decision that they would forgo their entertainment to insure that I would read. The Tv was discarded and disabled.
I learned to read.. and the rest is history.. as they say. More later on what this did to peer interaction.
Love
Pat
Thursday, September 25, 2008
More Percy and the Addition Description
Percy could live on a pretty strange diet.
when he was sitting me we would eat candy bars and pepsi. This was a guy that got up every morning and did 20 minutes of pushups and sit ups.
When he moved out of our house, he moved to the apartments on old El Camino Drive on the way to El Camino High School. One of the really cool things that he had in his apartment was a heated swimming pool. It was admittedly very tiny but it was fun to dunk and get dunked in it.
When Percy was at out house, we shared the first bedroom up the stairs. He got the bed and I slept on the aluminum cot on the other side of the bedroom. I think that as I was getting taller it became evident that they needed another bedroom added to the house. We worked on the bedroom that became part of the addition. It was a very skinny room, and it was a long way from the bathroom. The house had two bathrooms one was connected to the master bedroom the other one was end the hall from the bedrooms. To reach the bathroom I needed to go through the addition,the kitchen, up the stairs and to the end of the hall. I really didn't need a bathroom close by.
What was great about the new addition and the bathroom was that it had a deck and the bedroom had its own door that connected to the deck. The walls were the classic Philippine mahogany paneling, and it had a very nice window to the backyard and a set of "jealousy" window strips that were at the end of the bedroom across from the closet.
The flooring was vinyl tile over plywood. This tile was throughout the addition. The addition had its own heater, and eventually it had a wood stove. The addition became the center of the family community. The dinner table served as s conversation area and provided a casual place to meet and greet with our friends.
The ceiling to the addition had 8 cantilevered 8x18inch beams stained cabot blackish brown. The area between the beams was 2x6 tongue and groove planks stained grey. A large sliding glass window opened from the dining room section of the addition to the small deck which also was cantilevered.
I think that Dad was pretty happy that we were able to build such as structure for around 3 thousand dollars. Can you imagine what the cost would be today?
Have a great day
Pat
when he was sitting me we would eat candy bars and pepsi. This was a guy that got up every morning and did 20 minutes of pushups and sit ups.
When he moved out of our house, he moved to the apartments on old El Camino Drive on the way to El Camino High School. One of the really cool things that he had in his apartment was a heated swimming pool. It was admittedly very tiny but it was fun to dunk and get dunked in it.
When Percy was at out house, we shared the first bedroom up the stairs. He got the bed and I slept on the aluminum cot on the other side of the bedroom. I think that as I was getting taller it became evident that they needed another bedroom added to the house. We worked on the bedroom that became part of the addition. It was a very skinny room, and it was a long way from the bathroom. The house had two bathrooms one was connected to the master bedroom the other one was end the hall from the bedrooms. To reach the bathroom I needed to go through the addition,the kitchen, up the stairs and to the end of the hall. I really didn't need a bathroom close by.
What was great about the new addition and the bathroom was that it had a deck and the bedroom had its own door that connected to the deck. The walls were the classic Philippine mahogany paneling, and it had a very nice window to the backyard and a set of "jealousy" window strips that were at the end of the bedroom across from the closet.
The flooring was vinyl tile over plywood. This tile was throughout the addition. The addition had its own heater, and eventually it had a wood stove. The addition became the center of the family community. The dinner table served as s conversation area and provided a casual place to meet and greet with our friends.
The ceiling to the addition had 8 cantilevered 8x18inch beams stained cabot blackish brown. The area between the beams was 2x6 tongue and groove planks stained grey. A large sliding glass window opened from the dining room section of the addition to the small deck which also was cantilevered.
I think that Dad was pretty happy that we were able to build such as structure for around 3 thousand dollars. Can you imagine what the cost would be today?
Have a great day
Pat
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Its Strange Inside the Reunion
We are faced with an interesting situation. Should the committee release the names of the deceased classmates on the web. The committee is split.
But.. being on the inside and knowing the names... I take a little uncredited solice in knowing that one of my freshman class bullies is not around. He threatened me out of using by locker. So every day I had to haul my books.. all of them up the 12 flights of steps to the pe department. Then home 2 and half miles.. up hill. Some of you know this hill.
Our class was a bubble class. Classrooms were not built to house our numbers. We were in split sessions. And this followed all the way up to high school. Suddenly this boomer class arrived with huge numbers. When capacity was reached and the numbers started to shrink back again, there were too many classrooms constructed. The school board was faced with selling off old elementary schools to day care companies and often to their private competition.
Merced is still building schools and classroom capacity. Will we be in that spot down the road? Its seems like our yearly growth in a county with over 11 percent unemployment cannot be good. But we continue to grow. And even this year at the high school we are looking at growth rather than reductions.
Have a great day
Pat
But.. being on the inside and knowing the names... I take a little uncredited solice in knowing that one of my freshman class bullies is not around. He threatened me out of using by locker. So every day I had to haul my books.. all of them up the 12 flights of steps to the pe department. Then home 2 and half miles.. up hill. Some of you know this hill.
Our class was a bubble class. Classrooms were not built to house our numbers. We were in split sessions. And this followed all the way up to high school. Suddenly this boomer class arrived with huge numbers. When capacity was reached and the numbers started to shrink back again, there were too many classrooms constructed. The school board was faced with selling off old elementary schools to day care companies and often to their private competition.
Merced is still building schools and classroom capacity. Will we be in that spot down the road? Its seems like our yearly growth in a county with over 11 percent unemployment cannot be good. But we continue to grow. And even this year at the high school we are looking at growth rather than reductions.
Have a great day
Pat
Monday, September 22, 2008
6K and still running
Thanks to all those readers out there that have moved my blog up to over 6thousand hits. Its one thing to set down a diary and its another to have an audience for it. Thanks for tuning in!
I continue to enjoy comments along the way so don't be afraid to send me a comment. If I don't like it, I will screen it out and not publish it.
Which reminds me of one of Dad's most revered programs. When the Apple 2E was the rage, there was a "cool" by those days standard called, Publish It. My sister Kelly and I always changed the proxemics on the phrase and we had something that you wouldn't repeat to your mother.. Publi sh it..
Just a funny for your late night or to start your day..
Thanks again for tuning in..
: ) : ) Pat
I continue to enjoy comments along the way so don't be afraid to send me a comment. If I don't like it, I will screen it out and not publish it.
Which reminds me of one of Dad's most revered programs. When the Apple 2E was the rage, there was a "cool" by those days standard called, Publish It. My sister Kelly and I always changed the proxemics on the phrase and we had something that you wouldn't repeat to your mother.. Publi sh it..
Just a funny for your late night or to start your day..
Thanks again for tuning in..
: ) : ) Pat
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Drama in the Junior High
Alta Loma Jr. high had some of the most distinctive band uniforms of any jr. high. They were these marvelous capes. They were red on the top and satin lined yellow gold under. They were heavy but magnificent at the same time. They were purchased from the proceeds of the annual spaghetti feed.
Drama was performed on a a series of platform tables set up in the all purpose room. Percy our speech and drama teacher put on two plays that I remember. Both were well attended. I was in the Christmas Carol. An adaptation of the the Charles Dickens number. I played the ghost from Christmas past. Touch my robe and ... etc. We had a great time with that. We also put on a melodrama play. Dad had put one on in the junior high for years as part of the fund raising carnival that occurred every fall. It was a wondrous thing with students coming in and playing different roles. Percy's was a different thing. It may have been billed as a fund raiser but I am not sure. It was in the multipurpose room. I was played the villain. It was wonderful. We had a trombone player chase me around the auditorium playing the William Tell overture. Our melodrama rented costumes from a costume rental agency in downtown San Francisco. It was big time fun.
Drama was performed on a a series of platform tables set up in the all purpose room. Percy our speech and drama teacher put on two plays that I remember. Both were well attended. I was in the Christmas Carol. An adaptation of the the Charles Dickens number. I played the ghost from Christmas past. Touch my robe and ... etc. We had a great time with that. We also put on a melodrama play. Dad had put one on in the junior high for years as part of the fund raising carnival that occurred every fall. It was a wondrous thing with students coming in and playing different roles. Percy's was a different thing. It may have been billed as a fund raiser but I am not sure. It was in the multipurpose room. I was played the villain. It was wonderful. We had a trombone player chase me around the auditorium playing the William Tell overture. Our melodrama rented costumes from a costume rental agency in downtown San Francisco. It was big time fun.
Doing Web Work
This week I have been working on the website for my class reunion. We are having our 40th reunion in October.
I am doing the website as usual. http://wwww.elcamino68.com . Its been a little hard to remember all of the moves I used to do so easily with golive. I had to join up to Lynda.com and go through their tutorial to re remember the pieces that I had forgotten. I have also been working updating a artist's friend's website. She had won several award and had 11 new painting that needed some web exposure.
This is the weekend that Acacia heads back to UCSD. What a trip! I talked to mam and dad this Am on my walk and they said that the Brownkorbels were headed down the coast and planned to stay overnight in Tustin.
I have been really enjoying the audiobook that Kelly sent me. I listen to it on my quite parts of my morning walk. Its "How Starbucks Saved my Life" Its written by a son of a very famous New Yorker columnist who met all the old time literary celebrities and was a big time advertising exec. who was fired by younger people he had hired. He saved his life by working at Starbucks which gave him his insurance coverage that helped him through a brain tumor. Its a pretty interesting listen.
I did my Starbucks walk today.. and it was pretty full for a Saturday morning. The UC students are back.
Have a great weekend
Pat
I am doing the website as usual. http://wwww.elcamino68.com . Its been a little hard to remember all of the moves I used to do so easily with golive. I had to join up to Lynda.com and go through their tutorial to re remember the pieces that I had forgotten. I have also been working updating a artist's friend's website. She had won several award and had 11 new painting that needed some web exposure.
This is the weekend that Acacia heads back to UCSD. What a trip! I talked to mam and dad this Am on my walk and they said that the Brownkorbels were headed down the coast and planned to stay overnight in Tustin.
I have been really enjoying the audiobook that Kelly sent me. I listen to it on my quite parts of my morning walk. Its "How Starbucks Saved my Life" Its written by a son of a very famous New Yorker columnist who met all the old time literary celebrities and was a big time advertising exec. who was fired by younger people he had hired. He saved his life by working at Starbucks which gave him his insurance coverage that helped him through a brain tumor. Its a pretty interesting listen.
I did my Starbucks walk today.. and it was pretty full for a Saturday morning. The UC students are back.
Have a great weekend
Pat
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Building the Boy, Building the Addition
In 1962 the world seemed much different than it does now.
I was in Jr. High and was always hungry as mom would attest. After getting home from school I could easily put down a half a gallon of milk and a half a dozen oranges.
During the Summer I grew over 6 inches in height. Nothing fit and my joints were always experiencing the pull from my muscles that where not growing as fast.
My parents decided to "grow" our house and add a dinning room and a bedroom for me in the back of our track split level three bedroom home. My family hired an architect to draw up the plans. His name was Donald Sandy. He was an architect of great reputation. He had even won an award for his designed from Sunset Magazine.
Our first job was to move the dirt in the backyard. From the disaster,arose new hope.
The year before we started construction, a serious landslide occurred in our backyard. An underground spring had opened up and dumped a ton of water against a slope that could not take it any more. When I came home one afternoon I heard this enormous thud. and the sound of at least 28 cubic yards of dirt came careening down the hill and took out the backyard fence and smashed up against our house.
Dad looked around and found Mr. Cushing that needed all of the clean fill he could get. He even had a "loaner" pickup truck that had a dump attachment to it. He was trying to get enough fill dirt to build a tennis court in his backyard. The round trip was about 4 miles. Dad decided that I needed to learn how to run a shovel. So ever night before dinner, dad and I were filling up wheel barrows of dirt and loading them onto the pickup truck and driving over to Mr. Cushing's backyard. He drove the truck to where the dirk needed to be and dumped it. It was always available the next time we took a load out. It seems like we had about a hundred loads of dirt. This fact will have to be verified since 7th grade eyes are not reliable.
We took out the dirt and dug a footer for a retaining wall. In the mean time,small pine trees and pampas grass were planted to keep the surface erosion down. When the form passed inspection, a group of neighbors and dad's friends came over and spent a Saturday morning rolling wheel barrows of cement from the street to the retaining wall that would form the end to the addition. They were paid by a beer here and there and a chance to help out a friend in need.
The idea of a contractor was simply out of the budget for a single wage earner family. So dad asked the architect to design the addition so that we could put it together ourselves with a a carpenter doing some of the work but basically overseeing us. Phil, our carpenter supervisor lived up the hill. He "moonlighted" at our job. During some of the phases of construction we were just clean up. In others we were wiring and paining creosote for the foundation or stuccoing.. more on that later.
And so it happened. One of Percy's friends was almost 7 feet tall. He came by and helped us set the beams. I remember spending some nights up on the roof pounding in big headed nails to keep the roof insulated and sound. The biggest job that dad and I took on together was the stucco. We got the chicken wire up. Dad rented a cement mixer for a week. I was the mixer and the hod carrier. The first batches of stucco were too loose. When dad tried to push it through the wire, the cement came tumbling onto the ground. We then tried to learn the perfect combination of water, sand and cement.
And so I learned to work... Pat
I was in Jr. High and was always hungry as mom would attest. After getting home from school I could easily put down a half a gallon of milk and a half a dozen oranges.
During the Summer I grew over 6 inches in height. Nothing fit and my joints were always experiencing the pull from my muscles that where not growing as fast.
My parents decided to "grow" our house and add a dinning room and a bedroom for me in the back of our track split level three bedroom home. My family hired an architect to draw up the plans. His name was Donald Sandy. He was an architect of great reputation. He had even won an award for his designed from Sunset Magazine.
Our first job was to move the dirt in the backyard. From the disaster,arose new hope.
The year before we started construction, a serious landslide occurred in our backyard. An underground spring had opened up and dumped a ton of water against a slope that could not take it any more. When I came home one afternoon I heard this enormous thud. and the sound of at least 28 cubic yards of dirt came careening down the hill and took out the backyard fence and smashed up against our house.
Dad looked around and found Mr. Cushing that needed all of the clean fill he could get. He even had a "loaner" pickup truck that had a dump attachment to it. He was trying to get enough fill dirt to build a tennis court in his backyard. The round trip was about 4 miles. Dad decided that I needed to learn how to run a shovel. So ever night before dinner, dad and I were filling up wheel barrows of dirt and loading them onto the pickup truck and driving over to Mr. Cushing's backyard. He drove the truck to where the dirk needed to be and dumped it. It was always available the next time we took a load out. It seems like we had about a hundred loads of dirt. This fact will have to be verified since 7th grade eyes are not reliable.
We took out the dirt and dug a footer for a retaining wall. In the mean time,small pine trees and pampas grass were planted to keep the surface erosion down. When the form passed inspection, a group of neighbors and dad's friends came over and spent a Saturday morning rolling wheel barrows of cement from the street to the retaining wall that would form the end to the addition. They were paid by a beer here and there and a chance to help out a friend in need.
The idea of a contractor was simply out of the budget for a single wage earner family. So dad asked the architect to design the addition so that we could put it together ourselves with a a carpenter doing some of the work but basically overseeing us. Phil, our carpenter supervisor lived up the hill. He "moonlighted" at our job. During some of the phases of construction we were just clean up. In others we were wiring and paining creosote for the foundation or stuccoing.. more on that later.
And so it happened. One of Percy's friends was almost 7 feet tall. He came by and helped us set the beams. I remember spending some nights up on the roof pounding in big headed nails to keep the roof insulated and sound. The biggest job that dad and I took on together was the stucco. We got the chicken wire up. Dad rented a cement mixer for a week. I was the mixer and the hod carrier. The first batches of stucco were too loose. When dad tried to push it through the wire, the cement came tumbling onto the ground. We then tried to learn the perfect combination of water, sand and cement.
And so I learned to work... Pat
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Finding Cash for the Movie
Percy, see my last blog entry, was poor most of his life. He came from a family that really didn't have the money to send him to college. We enlisted in the army and the army covered his college costs.
When he started work as a teacher he always felt that he should marry a rich woman. Her family would take care of all of his needs. As life would have it, he fell in love with a girl from a family that had the biggest house in Atherton California.
Atherton is a small very upscale town on the San Francisco Peninsula between Belmont(San Carlos) and Mountain View (Palo Alto). Her family home had massive greek columns 25 feet high on the front steps leading up to the house. In front of the house was a huge reflecting pool that doubled as an unheated swimming pool. It was an enormous house with two basement floors underground with row upon row of rare books. The family's hobby business was rare book stores. They owned three. None of them made any significant money. Their operating capital came from land they owned in San Luis Obispo. They had wheat growing in fields between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero.
Percy's friend had a brother almost exactly my age. I was invited down for a day to meet him and be a part. We decided to go to the movie. No one had the two dollars required to go to the movie. The irony was we were in a multi million dollar house and no one had two bucks.
Finally we asked the domestic helper and cook who lived there if she had two bucks we could borrow. She happily gave it up for us to go. I guess we could have asked the gardener.
When we got back the family was having a dinner party. We were invited. It was the first time I had had a canape. I was asked about my family and we had a good time at the dinner table.
I left late at night with Percy driving us home to South City with a little bit of chagrin.
Love Pat
When he started work as a teacher he always felt that he should marry a rich woman. Her family would take care of all of his needs. As life would have it, he fell in love with a girl from a family that had the biggest house in Atherton California.
Atherton is a small very upscale town on the San Francisco Peninsula between Belmont(San Carlos) and Mountain View (Palo Alto). Her family home had massive greek columns 25 feet high on the front steps leading up to the house. In front of the house was a huge reflecting pool that doubled as an unheated swimming pool. It was an enormous house with two basement floors underground with row upon row of rare books. The family's hobby business was rare book stores. They owned three. None of them made any significant money. Their operating capital came from land they owned in San Luis Obispo. They had wheat growing in fields between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero.
Percy's friend had a brother almost exactly my age. I was invited down for a day to meet him and be a part. We decided to go to the movie. No one had the two dollars required to go to the movie. The irony was we were in a multi million dollar house and no one had two bucks.
Finally we asked the domestic helper and cook who lived there if she had two bucks we could borrow. She happily gave it up for us to go. I guess we could have asked the gardener.
When we got back the family was having a dinner party. We were invited. It was the first time I had had a canape. I was asked about my family and we had a good time at the dinner table.
I left late at night with Percy driving us home to South City with a little bit of chagrin.
Love Pat
Monday, September 15, 2008
Arguing With A Post
When I was in the 7th grade, a distant second uncle came to stay with us. His name was Percy. He was a wiry young man who had graduated from Western State College in Gunnison too. (Mom and Dad had as well) Dad hired him on to teach in the same Junior High that he was the vice principal and I attended. He became a junior high speech and drama teacher. He also lived at our house.
He was an arch conservative. He was the president of the young republicans from the colleges and universities of Colorado. He was as far right as we were left in political orientation. It was the political year of Barry Goldwater. He was sure that AuH20 was surely going to win the presidency.
He loved going to televised pay for view boxing matches. At that time people assembled and paid good money to watch a black and white television projected broadcast in a huge auditorium like the Cow Palace.
He was anxious to see the Patterson vs Johanson fight. He paid 35 dollars, bought himself a beer, a cigar and three punches later it was over. He felt completely ripped off. Yet he had witnessed history.
Percy was the arch conservative. He was very disappointed when Goldwater, the senator from Arizona did not win. Mom teased him one night. She said to him," I hear Barry is the man of the century."
Percy bightened up and said. "so you can see the value of the candidacy."
Mom replied,"Yes Goldwater is the man of the 18th century"
With conservatives at that time always wanting to return to simpler times it was not all that untrue. It did sort of deflate Percy.
More Percy stories later..
Love, Pat
He was an arch conservative. He was the president of the young republicans from the colleges and universities of Colorado. He was as far right as we were left in political orientation. It was the political year of Barry Goldwater. He was sure that AuH20 was surely going to win the presidency.
He loved going to televised pay for view boxing matches. At that time people assembled and paid good money to watch a black and white television projected broadcast in a huge auditorium like the Cow Palace.
He was anxious to see the Patterson vs Johanson fight. He paid 35 dollars, bought himself a beer, a cigar and three punches later it was over. He felt completely ripped off. Yet he had witnessed history.
Percy was the arch conservative. He was very disappointed when Goldwater, the senator from Arizona did not win. Mom teased him one night. She said to him," I hear Barry is the man of the century."
Percy bightened up and said. "so you can see the value of the candidacy."
Mom replied,"Yes Goldwater is the man of the 18th century"
With conservatives at that time always wanting to return to simpler times it was not all that untrue. It did sort of deflate Percy.
More Percy stories later..
Love, Pat
Cooler in the AM
Its really getting to be Fall.
When I walk to Starbucks in the morning it is cool. There is very little residual heat from the night before. That usually means at least a sub 90 degree high day.
This weekend I put together some lesson plans for the week. We are going to be working on the vocabulary of grocery stores. The today we are working on the areas of Meat, Deli, Bakery, and Dairy.
I also worked up a plan for in case I would not be able to get some lesson plans to the office. We are working to be a school with that kind of backup. Planning is good.. specific planning is another issue. Part of education is the artistry of teachers planning and executing their own plans. Unfortunately educational planners see that this is the way they can strengthen the push toward No Child Left Behind.. NCLB for short.
Life goes on.
Mom and Dad seem happy in Colorado. They had a big adventure up over the mountain. Dad "shook hands" with about 10 fish and caught a little one that he returned to Crystal Springs lake. They ate at their favorite chili spot up on the mountain and had an ice cream on the way down to their Cederidge art stops. Pretty cool. Their Chrysler LHX did a wonderful job taking on Grand Mesa.
Have a great Monday!
: ) Pat
When I walk to Starbucks in the morning it is cool. There is very little residual heat from the night before. That usually means at least a sub 90 degree high day.
This weekend I put together some lesson plans for the week. We are going to be working on the vocabulary of grocery stores. The today we are working on the areas of Meat, Deli, Bakery, and Dairy.
I also worked up a plan for in case I would not be able to get some lesson plans to the office. We are working to be a school with that kind of backup. Planning is good.. specific planning is another issue. Part of education is the artistry of teachers planning and executing their own plans. Unfortunately educational planners see that this is the way they can strengthen the push toward No Child Left Behind.. NCLB for short.
Life goes on.
Mom and Dad seem happy in Colorado. They had a big adventure up over the mountain. Dad "shook hands" with about 10 fish and caught a little one that he returned to Crystal Springs lake. They ate at their favorite chili spot up on the mountain and had an ice cream on the way down to their Cederidge art stops. Pretty cool. Their Chrysler LHX did a wonderful job taking on Grand Mesa.
Have a great Monday!
: ) Pat
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Stupid Stupid Stupid
On our way down the hill I talked Sue (it didn't take much) into heading North to see Linzi and Sean. She gave them a call when we were in Lockford. Linzi said sure come on up .. we can go to lunch or something.
So off we headed and stopped by a farmer who was selling his tomatoes,onions,watermelon and apples. We left 19 dollars lighter as we bought a set for Linzi too.
We met Linzi and Sean and Chris and his significant other and went out to eat at their local pizza and salad place.. mucho fun.
They went thrift storing and Sean and I stayed home and played the bunny game on the wii.. very fun.
When they come home we were ready to go. Linzi told me that when I go get new keys for the Escape, I needed a new remote or a battery for the expedition. Sure enough we were ready to plow into it to go home and the doors would not open. We were both ready to call AAA when Linzi said.. use your key to unlock your door.. Son of a gun we did that and we were able to get home without a AAA embarrassment.
Love
Pat
So off we headed and stopped by a farmer who was selling his tomatoes,onions,watermelon and apples. We left 19 dollars lighter as we bought a set for Linzi too.
We met Linzi and Sean and Chris and his significant other and went out to eat at their local pizza and salad place.. mucho fun.
They went thrift storing and Sean and I stayed home and played the bunny game on the wii.. very fun.
When they come home we were ready to go. Linzi told me that when I go get new keys for the Escape, I needed a new remote or a battery for the expedition. Sure enough we were ready to plow into it to go home and the doors would not open. We were both ready to call AAA when Linzi said.. use your key to unlock your door.. Son of a gun we did that and we were able to get home without a AAA embarrassment.
Love
Pat
Indian Casino near Jackson
We arrive barely on time to the conference spot at the Jackson Rancheria. About 3 miles out of town the road steeply rolls across the foothill landscape. Its a beautiful road with designer lamps along the way. The road is very steep as it pushes itself up the a set of three smoke filled auditorium sized rooms on one side of the road, gentrified to look like an old town city, and four story parking lot separates the casino side from the hotel side.
We navigated through to the self park area and headed up the pedestrian bridge to the hotel side. We arrive at 11:30. We tried to check in.. well no.. rooms were not available until at least 2pm. Sue was very tired. So she sat down at the couch after joining us for the Brunch complete with an omelet making station, salmon in cream sauce, fancy breakfast rolls and the usual breakfast stuff, sausage, bacon, eggs and toast. She thought that she could rest on their couch.
She was turned in by the security.. and told she could not do that. I found out about that and got her out to the car where she could lie down and rest. At 3 o'clock the room as ready.
It was a nice room. It has a handicapped shower set up. It was clean and comfortable. the conference continued and I went to another session. For dinner she joined us again. It was Italian spaghetti, lasagna, and chicken breasts with red sauce on it. They had a wonderful individual circular tirmusu deserts,and a really good amaretto and chocolate cake. We listened as the speaker talked about the CTA pac and the candidates and the propositions the organizations support.
We enjoyed a wonderful piano pan playing in the smoke free lobby. It was beautiful. After Sue turned in, I went down to see what the casino was like. It was very interesting. It was the first time I have been to one that had no sound of crashing coins. No coins were permitted. The machines would take paper money. When the gambler was through, a button for cash out yielded a slip with a bar code on it. The slip could be redeemed for money at the many kiosks. Cashiers were also available in the cages to redeem the slips. I gambled 40 dollars. At one time I was up 16 dollars. In the end I walked away with 36 dollars in my pocket. In the morning, I walked down to get an espresso (at their Peet's). I put 10 dollars in the quarter machine. I walked away when I had a jackpot that restored by 10 dollar and gave me a quarter to boot.
The next morning (Saturday) we faced an interesting dilemma we arrived ten minutes in to the breakfast brunch.. basically eggs,bacon,ham, sausage, and browned potatoes with not enough eggs. The worker said that she put out all that there was supposed to be. The CTA secretaries demanded more eggs to be made.. she said that more could be had but it will take 5 to 10 more minutes. By the time our president made it down.. everything was restored.
At 10 o'clock the conference restored and we were off to the conference rooms. At 11:15 I got a phone call from Sue who called me up and said that we were being thrown out of room by the housekeeping staff. That was it.. we picked up and headed out. I missed out 2 hours of conference.. I told our president why I was leaving.. she wanted to take them on.. but it was really too late.
I think that the CTA conference was at cross purpose to the hotel. They want people to come in and gamble lose their money and stay. We wanted a good place for a conference. Somehow both needs were not met. I didn't hear any teachers that lost big sums of money or that won them for that matter either.
: ( Pat
We navigated through to the self park area and headed up the pedestrian bridge to the hotel side. We arrive at 11:30. We tried to check in.. well no.. rooms were not available until at least 2pm. Sue was very tired. So she sat down at the couch after joining us for the Brunch complete with an omelet making station, salmon in cream sauce, fancy breakfast rolls and the usual breakfast stuff, sausage, bacon, eggs and toast. She thought that she could rest on their couch.
She was turned in by the security.. and told she could not do that. I found out about that and got her out to the car where she could lie down and rest. At 3 o'clock the room as ready.
It was a nice room. It has a handicapped shower set up. It was clean and comfortable. the conference continued and I went to another session. For dinner she joined us again. It was Italian spaghetti, lasagna, and chicken breasts with red sauce on it. They had a wonderful individual circular tirmusu deserts,and a really good amaretto and chocolate cake. We listened as the speaker talked about the CTA pac and the candidates and the propositions the organizations support.
We enjoyed a wonderful piano pan playing in the smoke free lobby. It was beautiful. After Sue turned in, I went down to see what the casino was like. It was very interesting. It was the first time I have been to one that had no sound of crashing coins. No coins were permitted. The machines would take paper money. When the gambler was through, a button for cash out yielded a slip with a bar code on it. The slip could be redeemed for money at the many kiosks. Cashiers were also available in the cages to redeem the slips. I gambled 40 dollars. At one time I was up 16 dollars. In the end I walked away with 36 dollars in my pocket. In the morning, I walked down to get an espresso (at their Peet's). I put 10 dollars in the quarter machine. I walked away when I had a jackpot that restored by 10 dollar and gave me a quarter to boot.
The next morning (Saturday) we faced an interesting dilemma we arrived ten minutes in to the breakfast brunch.. basically eggs,bacon,ham, sausage, and browned potatoes with not enough eggs. The worker said that she put out all that there was supposed to be. The CTA secretaries demanded more eggs to be made.. she said that more could be had but it will take 5 to 10 more minutes. By the time our president made it down.. everything was restored.
At 10 o'clock the conference restored and we were off to the conference rooms. At 11:15 I got a phone call from Sue who called me up and said that we were being thrown out of room by the housekeeping staff. That was it.. we picked up and headed out. I missed out 2 hours of conference.. I told our president why I was leaving.. she wanted to take them on.. but it was really too late.
I think that the CTA conference was at cross purpose to the hotel. They want people to come in and gamble lose their money and stay. We wanted a good place for a conference. Somehow both needs were not met. I didn't hear any teachers that lost big sums of money or that won them for that matter either.
: ( Pat
Friday, September 12, 2008
Off to Jackson
We are headed up to Jackson for an area confab of the CTA leaders today. Jackson is in the foothills above Stockton/Sacramento. We are gathering most of our local negotiation teams to compare and team build. Sue and the powerchair are going up there too.
For most people the added attraction is the indian casino. I am sure that is why our organization is getting a good price on the rooms. We were also planning to go to Reno. But that one stretches our away from home tolerance.
I have been working on getting more photos of Kate Jackson's paintings up on her pro bono site. Thank goodness for photoshop's batch commands. She had 11 new images that were sized in three different formats and labeled and put first in one folder and then added to the hard drive where go-live exists. I needed to juggle the existing thumbnails so that they could be added. Then each thumbnail needed to be linked to the new page that was created for each painting.
I have also been working on the reunion pages. Members have scanned there old photos and emailed them to me as attachments. Then I have been stripping them out and resizing and color correcting each one before assembling into the web pages I have created. The navigation system for this site is extremely simple.. just a next at the top of the page. See it on http://www.elcamino68.com.
I hope that you have a great day.
Love Pat
For most people the added attraction is the indian casino. I am sure that is why our organization is getting a good price on the rooms. We were also planning to go to Reno. But that one stretches our away from home tolerance.
I have been working on getting more photos of Kate Jackson's paintings up on her pro bono site. Thank goodness for photoshop's batch commands. She had 11 new images that were sized in three different formats and labeled and put first in one folder and then added to the hard drive where go-live exists. I needed to juggle the existing thumbnails so that they could be added. Then each thumbnail needed to be linked to the new page that was created for each painting.
I have also been working on the reunion pages. Members have scanned there old photos and emailed them to me as attachments. Then I have been stripping them out and resizing and color correcting each one before assembling into the web pages I have created. The navigation system for this site is extremely simple.. just a next at the top of the page. See it on http://www.elcamino68.com.
I hope that you have a great day.
Love Pat
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tools
Students are working on "tools" this week.
Writing day.. always Wednesday was based on picking tools and writing about them. Classification, description, and function.
One student was putting together a group of three item tools that held water. One of the item included his favorite item.. toilet. We thought together and came up with wash basin, and bathtub.
One girl in the class thought of items put in hair as tools. She included hairbrush, comb and scrunchy.
Overall it was a good writing day.. it took a lot more hands on than I figured to get them to think in the areas of classification, description, and function.
The district is pushing out more administration observations complete with a "coaching" form. I ask our administration what part of the form constituted "coaching." She was a little taken back by the comment and only said that it was coming down directly from the superintendent.
We are also being required to have available lesson plans. Our concern is with the new requirements built into them that looks largely like the Madelyn Hunter stuff of the 90's ... 5 step lesson plans.
With so much of our curriculum structured with pacing schedules and curriculum requirements.. it amounts to more than 90 extra hours a year to produce these products.
So we have been designing some strategies at the union to shore up our members reaction to these new developments in our working conditions.
So we shall see what we shall see.
Pat
Writing day.. always Wednesday was based on picking tools and writing about them. Classification, description, and function.
One student was putting together a group of three item tools that held water. One of the item included his favorite item.. toilet. We thought together and came up with wash basin, and bathtub.
One girl in the class thought of items put in hair as tools. She included hairbrush, comb and scrunchy.
Overall it was a good writing day.. it took a lot more hands on than I figured to get them to think in the areas of classification, description, and function.
The district is pushing out more administration observations complete with a "coaching" form. I ask our administration what part of the form constituted "coaching." She was a little taken back by the comment and only said that it was coming down directly from the superintendent.
We are also being required to have available lesson plans. Our concern is with the new requirements built into them that looks largely like the Madelyn Hunter stuff of the 90's ... 5 step lesson plans.
With so much of our curriculum structured with pacing schedules and curriculum requirements.. it amounts to more than 90 extra hours a year to produce these products.
So we have been designing some strategies at the union to shore up our members reaction to these new developments in our working conditions.
So we shall see what we shall see.
Pat
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Danger of the Real Palin
This is an interesting article from the Huffington Post. Its a little scary how a little packaging can miss the real message:
It seems forever since the Democrats completed their triumphant Convention in Denver with its Obama/Biden/Clinton/Kennedy unity ticket and its intoxicating sense of take-it-to-the-finish line momentum. What happened? Not Sarah Palin. How could a small-time Alaska mayor and first term Governor derail the Obama freight train? No it was not Sarah Palin but the extraordinary reaction to McCain's wildly irresponsible decision to make her his running mate that seems to have paralyzed the Party.
Something about Palin scrambled the otherwise steady nerves of the Obama campaign. As if they were believing everything she was saying. Assuming that the Republican base was the country and hence thinking her success at her Convention there would be replicated nationally. (Did you see the face of that convention? Is that really the face of America?) Afraid to be accused of sexism (ironic after how it disposed of Hillary); or of unwarranted anger (Obama sometimes seems like Governor Dukakis, unwilling to rise to the bait even when it would be politically smart to do so).
Why is it so hard simply to tell the truth about Palin? Yes she is a successful and politically smart woman to be admired for that reason. But she is also a typical Republican values hypocrite preaching choice for women - except when it comes to pregnancy; preaching that family should be kept out of the political searchlight - except when it is useful to parade her own family on center stage; preaching against earmarks - except when it help her career to solicit them for Alaska; preaching about America first - except that she actually has made a career out of putting Palin first, Alaska second and America last (check out her Alaska secessionist husband).
She is a successful and politically smart woman, but she is also a right wing extremist who tried to delete books she didn't approve of from the town library where she was mayor and tried to fire the librarian when that didn't work; who is a creationist and, like the current occupant of the White House, who has little use for science, whether it is the science of evolution or the science of global warming; who never had a passport until last year when she visited her National Guard troops in Kuwait. Otherwise a stranger to the world in which America must make its way.
She is a successful and politically smart woman, but she is not merely pro-life, she is a no-exceptions-never-mind-rape-or-incest pro-lifer who thinks woman have no right to participate in decisions about what happens to their bodies if they become pregnant.
What the Democratic leadership has yet to figure out is that the real gender bias in the Palin appointment is the patronizing attitude that assumes what would and should be savaged and ridiculed in a man must be condoned or even welcomed in a woman.
Dukakis was skewered by twisted stories about rapists and released prisoners because he wanted to appear reasonable. War hero Kerry got swift-boated by men who never served in the military. Is Obama now going to let himself get moosed by a parochial Alaskan know-nothing because she's a woman?
Time to get mad. At Palin. At McCain. At the Bushes (yes both of them). Gender equality means women can't hide their biases and dogmatism behind gender.
Speaking of men, it is not really Palin but McCain who is the perpetrator we need to criticize. It is McCain who cynically chose a far right wing ideologue who shares the worst biases of the current administration in Washington and made her his running mate in a "campaign against Washington."
In other words, it is not the pit-bull in lipstick but the man who unleashed her who bears the responsibility. Michael Vick went to prison for turning his pit-bulls loose on others. I'm not recommending putting McCain in jail, just keeping him and his snarling (or is that a smile?) running mate out of the White House. Your move, Senator Obama.
It seems forever since the Democrats completed their triumphant Convention in Denver with its Obama/Biden/Clinton/Kennedy unity ticket and its intoxicating sense of take-it-to-the-finish line momentum. What happened? Not Sarah Palin. How could a small-time Alaska mayor and first term Governor derail the Obama freight train? No it was not Sarah Palin but the extraordinary reaction to McCain's wildly irresponsible decision to make her his running mate that seems to have paralyzed the Party.
Something about Palin scrambled the otherwise steady nerves of the Obama campaign. As if they were believing everything she was saying. Assuming that the Republican base was the country and hence thinking her success at her Convention there would be replicated nationally. (Did you see the face of that convention? Is that really the face of America?) Afraid to be accused of sexism (ironic after how it disposed of Hillary); or of unwarranted anger (Obama sometimes seems like Governor Dukakis, unwilling to rise to the bait even when it would be politically smart to do so).
Why is it so hard simply to tell the truth about Palin? Yes she is a successful and politically smart woman to be admired for that reason. But she is also a typical Republican values hypocrite preaching choice for women - except when it comes to pregnancy; preaching that family should be kept out of the political searchlight - except when it is useful to parade her own family on center stage; preaching against earmarks - except when it help her career to solicit them for Alaska; preaching about America first - except that she actually has made a career out of putting Palin first, Alaska second and America last (check out her Alaska secessionist husband).
She is a successful and politically smart woman, but she is also a right wing extremist who tried to delete books she didn't approve of from the town library where she was mayor and tried to fire the librarian when that didn't work; who is a creationist and, like the current occupant of the White House, who has little use for science, whether it is the science of evolution or the science of global warming; who never had a passport until last year when she visited her National Guard troops in Kuwait. Otherwise a stranger to the world in which America must make its way.
She is a successful and politically smart woman, but she is not merely pro-life, she is a no-exceptions-never-mind-rape-or-incest pro-lifer who thinks woman have no right to participate in decisions about what happens to their bodies if they become pregnant.
What the Democratic leadership has yet to figure out is that the real gender bias in the Palin appointment is the patronizing attitude that assumes what would and should be savaged and ridiculed in a man must be condoned or even welcomed in a woman.
Dukakis was skewered by twisted stories about rapists and released prisoners because he wanted to appear reasonable. War hero Kerry got swift-boated by men who never served in the military. Is Obama now going to let himself get moosed by a parochial Alaskan know-nothing because she's a woman?
Time to get mad. At Palin. At McCain. At the Bushes (yes both of them). Gender equality means women can't hide their biases and dogmatism behind gender.
Speaking of men, it is not really Palin but McCain who is the perpetrator we need to criticize. It is McCain who cynically chose a far right wing ideologue who shares the worst biases of the current administration in Washington and made her his running mate in a "campaign against Washington."
In other words, it is not the pit-bull in lipstick but the man who unleashed her who bears the responsibility. Michael Vick went to prison for turning his pit-bulls loose on others. I'm not recommending putting McCain in jail, just keeping him and his snarling (or is that a smile?) running mate out of the White House. Your move, Senator Obama.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Word for Today: Iconoclastic
I came across this word in my reading and thought you might be interesting in a dictionary definition of this word. This is lifted from the free dictionary online:
i·con·o·clast (-kn-klst)
n.
1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions.
2. One who destroys sacred religious images.
[French iconoclaste, from Medieval Greek eikonoklasts, smasher of religious images : eikono-, icono- + Greek -klasts, breaker (from Greek kln, klas-, to break).]
i·cono·clastic adj.
i·cono·clasti·cal·ly adv.
Word History: An iconoclast can be unpleasant company, but at least the modern iconoclast only attacks such things as ideas and institutions. The original iconoclasts destroyed countless works of art. Eikonoklasts, the ancestor of our word, was first formed in Medieval Greek from the elements eikn, "image, likeness," and -klasts, "breaker," from kln, "to break." The images referred to by the word are religious images, which were the subject of controversy among Christians of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries, when iconoclasm was at its height. In addition to destroying many sculptures and paintings, those opposed to images attempted to have them barred from display and veneration. During the Protestant Reformation images in churches were again felt to be idolatrous and were once more banned and destroyed. It is around this time that iconoclast, the descendant of the Greek word, is first recorded in English (1641), with reference to the Byzantine iconoclasts. In the 19th century iconoclast took on the secular sense that it has today, as in "Kant was the great iconoclast" (James Martineau).
i·con·o·clast (-kn-klst)
n.
1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions.
2. One who destroys sacred religious images.
[French iconoclaste, from Medieval Greek eikonoklasts, smasher of religious images : eikono-, icono- + Greek -klasts, breaker (from Greek kln, klas-, to break).]
i·cono·clastic adj.
i·cono·clasti·cal·ly adv.
Word History: An iconoclast can be unpleasant company, but at least the modern iconoclast only attacks such things as ideas and institutions. The original iconoclasts destroyed countless works of art. Eikonoklasts, the ancestor of our word, was first formed in Medieval Greek from the elements eikn, "image, likeness," and -klasts, "breaker," from kln, "to break." The images referred to by the word are religious images, which were the subject of controversy among Christians of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries, when iconoclasm was at its height. In addition to destroying many sculptures and paintings, those opposed to images attempted to have them barred from display and veneration. During the Protestant Reformation images in churches were again felt to be idolatrous and were once more banned and destroyed. It is around this time that iconoclast, the descendant of the Greek word, is first recorded in English (1641), with reference to the Byzantine iconoclasts. In the 19th century iconoclast took on the secular sense that it has today, as in "Kant was the great iconoclast" (James Martineau).
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Toes and it goes
My sister Kelly said that.. and I paraphrase her quote.." I have seen better looking toes on a corpse" and she helped me trim my nails when my leg was infected.. so she should know.
That is why she entered the comment on my Dr. Appt. I think that she thinks I am the poster child of the add where the family moves into and the under the toe nail home.. except she thinks the family also moved in a RV to park there too.
Thanks for your concern Kelly.. I may not have such tragic leg situations in the future.
Sue and I went to Costco today... I know.. don't go to Costco on a Saturday or a Sunday.. but there we were. I met every retired teacher I knew as we were heading out the door. The temperature is literally 100 degrees.
Mom and dad are getting ready to head off to Colorado tomorrow. Their Sunday morning flight will take them first to Salt Lake City. I hope that have a great time in their Colorado home.
We are still in pluot season. The gold gems are just getting sweeter. Management today required a rake up of all the old ones. the front lawn got mowed and trimmed too.
The Forty Niners play the Cardinals in SF tomorrow. Oakland plays the Broncos on Monday night.
Linzi is still waiting to see if they get the house they have put in an offer. Heather said that her visit to the vet for Tyrone has got that cat down to a half a ml from a whole so things are looking up. She had quite a handful last weekend when she got off Bart in Pleasenton with both 18 pound cats in a walk on carrier.
I wish you a great rest of the weekend.
: ) Pat
That is why she entered the comment on my Dr. Appt. I think that she thinks I am the poster child of the add where the family moves into and the under the toe nail home.. except she thinks the family also moved in a RV to park there too.
Thanks for your concern Kelly.. I may not have such tragic leg situations in the future.
Sue and I went to Costco today... I know.. don't go to Costco on a Saturday or a Sunday.. but there we were. I met every retired teacher I knew as we were heading out the door. The temperature is literally 100 degrees.
Mom and dad are getting ready to head off to Colorado tomorrow. Their Sunday morning flight will take them first to Salt Lake City. I hope that have a great time in their Colorado home.
We are still in pluot season. The gold gems are just getting sweeter. Management today required a rake up of all the old ones. the front lawn got mowed and trimmed too.
The Forty Niners play the Cardinals in SF tomorrow. Oakland plays the Broncos on Monday night.
Linzi is still waiting to see if they get the house they have put in an offer. Heather said that her visit to the vet for Tyrone has got that cat down to a half a ml from a whole so things are looking up. She had quite a handful last weekend when she got off Bart in Pleasenton with both 18 pound cats in a walk on carrier.
I wish you a great rest of the weekend.
: ) Pat
Western State Is Getting a new Student Union
It is always fun to have freshmen in my classes. The idea that there is an office that handles tickets and fan stuff and balllons and other student store stuff is totally amazing to Freshmen,
When they go to the SBO the Student Body Office, they are amazed. The first encounter is usually when they need a student ID card. If they didn't go to roundup, they need to go the SBO to get a photo ID. More than one student has asked me if they may go to the SOB to get something. Well we all know what an SOB is...
Western State College, Sue and may alma mater and my parents alma mater is building a new Student Union. It will be their SBO. You may watch its construction on web cam from the link provided below. Here is a little article I lifted about it from their website.
Library North West
This unit is mounted on the north west corner of the Savage Library. This camera displays live full-motion video and is user-controllable. This camera rotates nearly 340°, and we've established some commonly visited presets to give you quick one-click access to good views of Crawford Hall, the Gym, and the Student Union. We mounted this camera right on the corner of the Savage Library building, so your view is truly 270°, from the west door to the lower level of the library, up hill to the Escalante complex and then along the north wall of the library building. Beginning in the summer of 2008, the College Union will be replaced. So you'll have a great view of the progress of this project, from demolition to foundation to steel to walls to landscaping. We'll be capturing images every day and preparing a time lapse movie of this exciting project to show at the grand opening of the new union in January 2010.
Check it out :) Pat
When they go to the SBO the Student Body Office, they are amazed. The first encounter is usually when they need a student ID card. If they didn't go to roundup, they need to go the SBO to get a photo ID. More than one student has asked me if they may go to the SOB to get something. Well we all know what an SOB is...
Western State College, Sue and may alma mater and my parents alma mater is building a new Student Union. It will be their SBO. You may watch its construction on web cam from the link provided below. Here is a little article I lifted about it from their website.
Library North West
This unit is mounted on the north west corner of the Savage Library. This camera displays live full-motion video and is user-controllable. This camera rotates nearly 340°, and we've established some commonly visited presets to give you quick one-click access to good views of Crawford Hall, the Gym, and the Student Union. We mounted this camera right on the corner of the Savage Library building, so your view is truly 270°, from the west door to the lower level of the library, up hill to the Escalante complex and then along the north wall of the library building. Beginning in the summer of 2008, the College Union will be replaced. So you'll have a great view of the progress of this project, from demolition to foundation to steel to walls to landscaping. We'll be capturing images every day and preparing a time lapse movie of this exciting project to show at the grand opening of the new union in January 2010.
Check it out :) Pat
Dr. Appt- Check up
Yesterday I went into the Doctor's office and went through the usual stuff you have in a physical exam. I had all of my lab work done in July.
Somewhere in his mind he had me down as a diabetic. He thought that I was taking medicine for the condition. I am not. So when the test showed that I wss mildly hypoglycemic his first thought was to lower my diabetic treatment. Surprise surprise, I am not taking any such medication. I am controlling it with exercise and diet. He then told me to be aware of the conditions of hypoglycemia and that I should consider carrying a starbrite candy or two with me in the car so that I can get the sugar into my blood as fast as I would need it.
EKG was normal. The cholesterol was great he would like me to get a little lower with the LDLs.. they came in at 74. The recoommendation is below 70.. simply because it will take out old plaque at that level.
He thinks my toes need to be tested for dreaded diseases.
He said my weight has been within 6 pounds for the last 10 years so he says don't stop your walking.. because that would effect this. The walking is mostly helping the blood chemistry.
So overall a very good exam.
: ) Pat
Somewhere in his mind he had me down as a diabetic. He thought that I was taking medicine for the condition. I am not. So when the test showed that I wss mildly hypoglycemic his first thought was to lower my diabetic treatment. Surprise surprise, I am not taking any such medication. I am controlling it with exercise and diet. He then told me to be aware of the conditions of hypoglycemia and that I should consider carrying a starbrite candy or two with me in the car so that I can get the sugar into my blood as fast as I would need it.
EKG was normal. The cholesterol was great he would like me to get a little lower with the LDLs.. they came in at 74. The recoommendation is below 70.. simply because it will take out old plaque at that level.
He thinks my toes need to be tested for dreaded diseases.
He said my weight has been within 6 pounds for the last 10 years so he says don't stop your walking.. because that would effect this. The walking is mostly helping the blood chemistry.
So overall a very good exam.
: ) Pat
Friday, September 5, 2008
Lets Hear it for one of my Favorite Nieces
Cammie is another year older today.
Throughout her young life.... now another year older.(when you are younger you want to be a year older) we have watched her grow and mature and become even more wonderful than she was when she was little.
She is a little different red head than my daughters but a genuine redhead none the less. And when it comes to red heads you either love them or hate them.
My favorite memory of her was when she joined our girls for the cabbage Patch gift day in Los Banos. Grandma Wanda had scouted out and waited in line and paid an exorbitant amount to get each of her three (Acacia had not arrive yet)granddaughters a cabbage patch doll that matched their hair color. They got the dolls out of the boxes and rolled down the hill at the park clutching them for dear life. Oh what fun!
We later ate at the Woolgrowers Basque restaurant and had a great time.
Happy birthday Cammie.. we have something for you and will drop it to you the next time we see you,
Love
uncle Pat and Aunt Suzie
Throughout her young life.... now another year older.(when you are younger you want to be a year older) we have watched her grow and mature and become even more wonderful than she was when she was little.
She is a little different red head than my daughters but a genuine redhead none the less. And when it comes to red heads you either love them or hate them.
My favorite memory of her was when she joined our girls for the cabbage Patch gift day in Los Banos. Grandma Wanda had scouted out and waited in line and paid an exorbitant amount to get each of her three (Acacia had not arrive yet)granddaughters a cabbage patch doll that matched their hair color. They got the dolls out of the boxes and rolled down the hill at the park clutching them for dear life. Oh what fun!
We later ate at the Woolgrowers Basque restaurant and had a great time.
Happy birthday Cammie.. we have something for you and will drop it to you the next time we see you,
Love
uncle Pat and Aunt Suzie
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I am going to do this Until I get it right
Late tonight I was able to finally get a printer alive at my desktop,
I fired up dad's old epson 2200 and as expected it needed new cartridges around. It did. Dad left me a slew of new cartridges. So I patiently replaced them all and ran the head cleaner about 6 times and sure enough I was getting a good pattern from the printer.. This was all being done through the use of my computer ordering it up and the printer doing it. So one would think that running a print order through the computer to the printer should work just as well.....
NO...
When it came to actually printing something the printer turned up its toes and said no go. So I had a printer that was similar could do similar work as one of the photography students in my dad's adult photography class did.. He was able to shoot test cards and gray scales..but when it came to do real work.. couldn't see it. I was able to print epson bar designs.. that was it..
So.. I was thinking the problem must be the print driver.. at least that is what I tell everyone else that is in this situation. I am sitting here with a DSL connection to the internet so my first inclination is to navigate to the Epson site and download a fresh driver. I did this.
Did that fix the problem?... No No No
So I thought well it must be because I didn't turn everything off and let it lose its settings.. so I did that.. No it didn't work with that.. all I was getting was an insidious message that said.. "printer has lost communication with the computer. Turn the computer on or reset the computer".. So I did it again..
Did it work no...
So I changed the port that the computer used to connect to the usb printer.. still the same problem.
So I thought..well I must be getting closer, but I have probably corrupted the printer driver so I will download it again. Again.. everything was off.. refired back again..
Did it work? no.. I had to get off to work.. so I turned everything off again.. I thought well I must not have waited long enough..
I return home from school and Back to school night.. still the same issue... so I was thinking at this point.. I need to buy a new printer... when the technology gets challenging sometimes the best thing to do is to buy new and not have to fight through the problems of the old. I was carefully was examining the specs for a new one.. even how am I going to get it through the door without a lot of questions?. yada yada..
Then I thought to my self.. self.. lets go through the Epson troubleshooting phases.. So I went through each variable on line. Is this button lit? No.. then it gives you another question.. and its little sequence changed depending upon my answer to a series of questions.. just like we learned to do in teacher AV class where we were working on power learning and using a feedback loops on paper instead of a computer. So I went through its little sequence.
18 questions later.. it states.. "We recommend you uninstall the old driver before you install the new."
It even gave me a live link to a help screen that showed me where the old driver was.. the old driver was unceremoniously dumped in the trash and the trash was swept away (electronically) and a new driver was downloaded.. The computer was restarted.. I agreed to the installation of the new driver and son of gun if it didn't all work,
What a ton of words in this blog to come to the conclusion that I stated at the beginning. I write this only to remind you that I still have to relearn the basics of software like drivers over and over again.. just like you..
: ) Pat
I fired up dad's old epson 2200 and as expected it needed new cartridges around. It did. Dad left me a slew of new cartridges. So I patiently replaced them all and ran the head cleaner about 6 times and sure enough I was getting a good pattern from the printer.. This was all being done through the use of my computer ordering it up and the printer doing it. So one would think that running a print order through the computer to the printer should work just as well.....
NO...
When it came to actually printing something the printer turned up its toes and said no go. So I had a printer that was similar could do similar work as one of the photography students in my dad's adult photography class did.. He was able to shoot test cards and gray scales..but when it came to do real work.. couldn't see it. I was able to print epson bar designs.. that was it..
So.. I was thinking the problem must be the print driver.. at least that is what I tell everyone else that is in this situation. I am sitting here with a DSL connection to the internet so my first inclination is to navigate to the Epson site and download a fresh driver. I did this.
Did that fix the problem?... No No No
So I thought well it must be because I didn't turn everything off and let it lose its settings.. so I did that.. No it didn't work with that.. all I was getting was an insidious message that said.. "printer has lost communication with the computer. Turn the computer on or reset the computer".. So I did it again..
Did it work no...
So I changed the port that the computer used to connect to the usb printer.. still the same problem.
So I thought..well I must be getting closer, but I have probably corrupted the printer driver so I will download it again. Again.. everything was off.. refired back again..
Did it work? no.. I had to get off to work.. so I turned everything off again.. I thought well I must not have waited long enough..
I return home from school and Back to school night.. still the same issue... so I was thinking at this point.. I need to buy a new printer... when the technology gets challenging sometimes the best thing to do is to buy new and not have to fight through the problems of the old. I was carefully was examining the specs for a new one.. even how am I going to get it through the door without a lot of questions?. yada yada..
Then I thought to my self.. self.. lets go through the Epson troubleshooting phases.. So I went through each variable on line. Is this button lit? No.. then it gives you another question.. and its little sequence changed depending upon my answer to a series of questions.. just like we learned to do in teacher AV class where we were working on power learning and using a feedback loops on paper instead of a computer. So I went through its little sequence.
18 questions later.. it states.. "We recommend you uninstall the old driver before you install the new."
It even gave me a live link to a help screen that showed me where the old driver was.. the old driver was unceremoniously dumped in the trash and the trash was swept away (electronically) and a new driver was downloaded.. The computer was restarted.. I agreed to the installation of the new driver and son of gun if it didn't all work,
What a ton of words in this blog to come to the conclusion that I stated at the beginning. I write this only to remind you that I still have to relearn the basics of software like drivers over and over again.. just like you..
: ) Pat
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
BTSN
Unlike similar acronyms such as the BCS (College Football's Champion Ship Series) BTSN is in most schools throughout the US. It stands for Back to School Night. Parents drag themselves away from the Republican National Convention and go to school to look those educators of the youngin in the eye and see if they are fit. They also are subjected to sitting in too small of seats albeit for 10 minutes at a time and to listen to endless rules of the classroom and academic expectations. Its also the first chance that the parents have to demonstrate to their children that they care about their education. There are kinds of parents that arrive at back to school night.
First, the parent no show. These are parents that are too embarrassed that they only finished third grade in Mexico that they do not want to show there faces. These are also the parents whose kids are the meanest. They need to know that the school will not tolerate their kids not allowing others to learn and the they will face discipline throughout the year. We will see often see these parents throughout the year as they are dragged into IEPs and threatened with expulsion. So the back to school night would be just a waste of time for them.
The second type of parent is the parent that is reliving their high school years. They dance from class to class as they follow their child's progress through the day. They know their child will do well, because they have dressed their child in the finest clothes and clothed them in academic expectations that far exceed what they were able to accomplish in school. These parents are seldom disappointed by the school and are charmed by quaint tales of the history teacher and a bit too chummy to the other teachers.. but alas the school can do not wrong so.. why Back to School Night?
The third group of parents come to Back to School night with a chip on their shoulder. Someone has told them that the best education a kid can get is if the parent comes to school and demands that the student despite himself will achieve great grades and move along to the approved school and succeed in life with mom's foot up the you know what of the school. They are the ones that make a scene at Back to School Night and try to prove that they know more than the teachers that work with their students. Any information provided for these parents gets misinterpreted and often gets blown out of context. These parents should stay home. Their kids can handle themselves.
The point grubbers are the fourth group. The teacher has offered points for parents to show up at BTSN. Parents begrudgingly go to BTSN so that they may sing the register and prove that they were there. This helps their student get points so that they may get a better grade in class.
So tomorrow at Back to School Night at one of my schools, I will be wondering.. why did only two parents show up.. I guess I can get the answer from the above.
{scratching his head}
: ) Pat
First, the parent no show. These are parents that are too embarrassed that they only finished third grade in Mexico that they do not want to show there faces. These are also the parents whose kids are the meanest. They need to know that the school will not tolerate their kids not allowing others to learn and the they will face discipline throughout the year. We will see often see these parents throughout the year as they are dragged into IEPs and threatened with expulsion. So the back to school night would be just a waste of time for them.
The second type of parent is the parent that is reliving their high school years. They dance from class to class as they follow their child's progress through the day. They know their child will do well, because they have dressed their child in the finest clothes and clothed them in academic expectations that far exceed what they were able to accomplish in school. These parents are seldom disappointed by the school and are charmed by quaint tales of the history teacher and a bit too chummy to the other teachers.. but alas the school can do not wrong so.. why Back to School Night?
The third group of parents come to Back to School night with a chip on their shoulder. Someone has told them that the best education a kid can get is if the parent comes to school and demands that the student despite himself will achieve great grades and move along to the approved school and succeed in life with mom's foot up the you know what of the school. They are the ones that make a scene at Back to School Night and try to prove that they know more than the teachers that work with their students. Any information provided for these parents gets misinterpreted and often gets blown out of context. These parents should stay home. Their kids can handle themselves.
The point grubbers are the fourth group. The teacher has offered points for parents to show up at BTSN. Parents begrudgingly go to BTSN so that they may sing the register and prove that they were there. This helps their student get points so that they may get a better grade in class.
So tomorrow at Back to School Night at one of my schools, I will be wondering.. why did only two parents show up.. I guess I can get the answer from the above.
{scratching his head}
: ) Pat
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
School should be starting
Today would be the day the school would start when I was growing up. The day after labor brought out the Pendleton shirts or their imitations. They were sturdy wool shirts and purchased at no small cost. I don't think I had one until I was buying them for myself. At least I didn't have for for the back to school fashion parade. As my own children would point out.. the back to school clothes would not come until October when teachers would get their first paycheck.
Since we work through much of August, our first paycheck these days is September 1st. We have been in school with students since August 13, more than 2 weeks. Tomorrow I will have my third Wednesday writing day. Its time to get the names in the grade book and start marking them!
In South City as I was growing up, we worked through the heat of the Indian summer that always attacks the bay area this time of the year. Afternoons can be breathless. The heat, up to 82 degrees often scorches the land. Most kids in the bay area have one season of clothes. One needs only the clothes to beat back the wind... and often the fog. The strange part of this season is that the wind enters the Bay Area from an Easterly flow. During most of the year the wind comes in from the West or the ocean side. The fog develops from the air being chilled by the cold current as wind rolls across it. This time of the year the wind comes in from the other direction and heats up as it compresses against the ground. This is what partially caused the serious Oakland fires of a few years ago.
The girls and Sean came by this weekend and we had a great time all together. On Labor Day Linzi and Heather and I shopped for a new car under 4100 dollars. There were a number of "beater" cars. Some were in the middle of rehab. Most were in the 150,000 mile range and were made in in the late 80's. Overall it was seriously hard work to interface with the salesman and their temporary "jewels" of rolling thunder. In the end we ran out of dealers and the last dealer would drop to our price before we walked. We all gained some in the education of the process. So what do you think of seriously old Nissan Altimas and Mazdas.. oy.. many had difficulty with door locks.. they must be the first to go.
Hope you had a great Labor Day.. Now back to school! and as mom would say.. get all A's
: )
Pat
Since we work through much of August, our first paycheck these days is September 1st. We have been in school with students since August 13, more than 2 weeks. Tomorrow I will have my third Wednesday writing day. Its time to get the names in the grade book and start marking them!
In South City as I was growing up, we worked through the heat of the Indian summer that always attacks the bay area this time of the year. Afternoons can be breathless. The heat, up to 82 degrees often scorches the land. Most kids in the bay area have one season of clothes. One needs only the clothes to beat back the wind... and often the fog. The strange part of this season is that the wind enters the Bay Area from an Easterly flow. During most of the year the wind comes in from the West or the ocean side. The fog develops from the air being chilled by the cold current as wind rolls across it. This time of the year the wind comes in from the other direction and heats up as it compresses against the ground. This is what partially caused the serious Oakland fires of a few years ago.
The girls and Sean came by this weekend and we had a great time all together. On Labor Day Linzi and Heather and I shopped for a new car under 4100 dollars. There were a number of "beater" cars. Some were in the middle of rehab. Most were in the 150,000 mile range and were made in in the late 80's. Overall it was seriously hard work to interface with the salesman and their temporary "jewels" of rolling thunder. In the end we ran out of dealers and the last dealer would drop to our price before we walked. We all gained some in the education of the process. So what do you think of seriously old Nissan Altimas and Mazdas.. oy.. many had difficulty with door locks.. they must be the first to go.
Hope you had a great Labor Day.. Now back to school! and as mom would say.. get all A's
: )
Pat