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
Saturday, September 6, 2008
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
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