Quandry

This summer a co-worker passed away. He was a friend in facebook. Do I remove him, or should I keep him as a tribute?

How Often?

Remember the Desktop Contest is still going on! You have until Friday to make your entry. I'm still thinking up a good prize. I'm not going cheap this time either. We're talking good stuff .. from West Texas or something like that. Or even Tink's thong. ( See THIS Image ) ... or maybe one of my thongs.

On to bid'ness

How often do women change their bras? I'm serious. How often do women change their bras and how long does a bra last? How often do you change it, like every other day, every day? I asked my wife, but all I got was, "I don't know!" Because men don't wear bras. Unless it's a "manzier" or a "bro".

Did everyone get through Labor ok? I did. Our trash days are Monday and Thursday which means every Monday holiday - which is like all of them - we wonder if we get trash picked up. Monday is also recycle day so we also wonder if recycling will be picked up. Needless to say, our garage stinks and the neighbor still has not retrieved his unpicked up trash from the bins in the street. I'm a fan of garbage cans in the alley.

I'm hoping to do a short video of my reunion and some pictures. A treat for you when I return. I still haven't posted pics of my kid's first day of Kinder.

And I'm digging Marc Cohn this morning, have a listen.

Of course my favorite song's are on the list like "Nowhere Fast" and "Things We handed Down" or even "True Companion". I'm thinking of covering Eli's "Things I Prayed For" as my intro to me playing my guitar for you. Until then ... Marc Cohn ...

Contest Time - Desktop Wallpaper

Maybe I'm overy my mopey or maybe a pill helped. Who cares. Sunshine isn't the only one who can have contests. We're going to have a contest here, ... both of us ...

Here's how it works. I'm going to be out most of the week. Monday in Labor Daying, Thursday in Longview and Friday through Sunday in Midland. This gives you plenty of time to send me a picture of your desktop.

For example this is the picture I use on my desktop



And this is the actual desktop




Email Me either the actual photo on your desktop

or

Email Me a screen shot of your desktop ( very easy In Windows to do, hit the "Print Screen" button go in Paint Or Word and paste the image, save it and send it. On a Mac open Grab and do "Capture" > "Screen" and click on the desktop, save and send. )

If you have two computers ( one at home, one at work ) you can enter twice if you want.

We'll vote next week so get your entries in by Friday. Seriously, will it take you THAT long to send an attachment?

Winner gets an official Buffalo Nickel!!! Or something else that's cool. Like a pair of Tink's thongs or something. She keeps sending them to me ... please ...

I'll send an email just to bug you and remind you. Sunshine ... you're my hero ...

This just tickles me

Who knew a short video of my college mascot dancing with the pom pom squad to "Apache" would make me smile.

Twenty Years

In a week or two I'll go to my 20 year high school reunion. I'm looking forward to it, but with some hesitation. Much the way a 12 year old hesitates when he sees the first curve ball thrown at him. You know it's coming, it looks like it's going to hit you and you fight the urge to flinch as you see the ball break from your head toward the other side of the plate.

High school was good for me. It was the last time I really felt safe; like I could trust people. Shortly after high school, my dad left, my mother was an emotional wreck and I was left to pick myself up and make things work. I never saw my dad again in much detail, and I never saw the woman I knew as my mother again in her confident state.

College, although a great opportunity to get away and separate, was spent grieving. Looking back over my Facebook friends, if I had not been in a fraternity, I doubt I would have made any friends in college. What a sad statement. College was supposed to be fun. Thanks dad, screw you.

High school however, was a different story. I made many friends, ran in different circles, and had loads of fun. But my Facebook friend list also tells me that I didn't really "know" these people. And many didn't care to keep up with me after high school.

Was it me?

Sadly, I think so.

Now I find myself in the life evaluating process of discovering I have few, if any friends - like real life people I see and can touch - on a daily basis. Co-workers don't count in my opinion. Guys just aren't built for in depth relationships. We are not pack animals. God made Adam and found no suitable helper. And that appears to be the way guys are. Or at least me. 

But in a couple of weeks it will be good to see my old town, my old friends and laugh and sing the alma mater and once again be a Bulldog in the September sun.

Two, maybe three, most quoted web development scriptures

Would you really like to know what has been causing me Spock's "great pain"  ( 3:10 ) in life lately?

 

 

After this I decided the 3 most quoted scripture in web development have to be the ones listed below.

John 11:33 "Jesus Wept"

John 19:30a "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.'"

or maybe

John 19:22 "Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.'"

International Business

I swear I could snap at any moment. Work is about to turn me into Michael Douglas in Falling Down.

So to avoid it all I'm going to tell a funny bathroom story a friend related to me.

Seems a certain office had an issue with a certain toilet. It was broken all the time. Not like clogged broken, like physically broken. Like cracked. Like the American Standard was not clogged, but destroyed.

It kept happening. Over and over again and no one could understand what was going on. An employee decided to find out what was going on with some stealth sleuthing. Every day he watched who went in and who went out using something like a rear view mirror on his computer.

It was a frequently used toilet so it was next to impossible to determine who broke it. His efforts revealed nothing until a shift change occurred.

He noticed a large Asian man entering the restroom. Every time the man entered. He noticed the next person would report the toilet broken.

It seems, the Asian man was new to the country and had worked the night shift and did not know he needed to physically SIT on the toilet and not place his feet on the sides and squat.

Let this be a lesson to you my friends.

My Read Palm

Ok, the "yes's" have it. Word Verification is OFF until I get spam. Then it goes back on.

Knight wrote about a hand writing analysis and I wanted to follow up my own palm-reading story. I worked with a young woman whose parents were palm reading hobbyists. They lived in Arkansas. The co-worker and I were in the Dallas area. I really wanted to have my palm read for nothing other than sheer fascination.

So we Xeroxed my hand and mailed it to her dad. For the life of me I can't remember what he said, but I do remember that it was pretty cool that someone could photo copy and send in their palm to be read.

In other news ...

My youngest was busted practicing cosmetology without a license. It seems she decided to cut herself some hair just above her left eye. It was rather fortuitous that she and the wife had a scheduled hair appointment the next day. She had beautiful long hair. Now it's shorter and honestly looks like Terri. I kept the strands. My hair lady is awesome!

Which leads to her next feat of incredibility. Last night about 1:30 AM we hear this crying and little footsteps coming to our room. This is not the nightmare cry. This is the "Mommy, I fell out of my bed and hit my head" cry. GASP! We had rails on her captain's bed and she's fallen off twice. Tonight she gets some big pillows on the edge to keep her in place. I used to fall out of bed too. I had rails. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the bed.

Annnnnddddddddd ....

I finished my crackle guitar. But I need to stain the neck some more. It just is too light. I had to buy a quart of ebony stain yesterday. I'll use all of maybe 2 ounces of it.

Here's the before:


And the after


And that is a new kitchen table.

Speaking of guitars ...

We started recording last night after band practice. We put down the drum tracks and the bass tracks. I'm nervous. I haven't recorded in a while and I don't like playing by myself especially in front of a people expecting me to do good. I'm going to have to practice on the arrangement. It's my favorite song we play, but the band is incredible. So ... I'll be a RAWK STARRRR soon! I'll have the quesadillas.

Anyone want to be my groupie?

Maybe this chick will be at church for the CD release ( Questionably Work Safe )


Working from home would be a whole lot more cool if it was just me here. I still have no office at work. The building is not finished. I'm guessing it will be Monday or Tuesday before I can get in. But students return soon so no thanks. I'll wait for a while. They were saying we could get in Monday or Tuesday of this week. I could have told them it would be later rather than sooner. I think they are paying because they are behind schedule. That's in most contracts.

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Publish Post

I Still Do Not Believe In Home Schooling

I've had a few unrelated conversations lately about education from at least 3 different sources. First, a guy in Australia can't believe how lax American education is. But then again. He's not here. But I have to admit, we don't rank well compared to others in the world.

Second was my mom who is always passionate about lots of subjects. And the third conversation is frequently in my mind.

Of course, my perspective is from what I see through my wife's experience as a public school teacher and what I've experienced in this state. A large state that is not ranking where I want it to rank.


Parents complain that they can't really send their kids to school because they can't feed their kids. Ok, so the state mandated free lunches and free breakfasts. It's a known fact that if the physical needs like food are not met education cannot happen. So, this is implemented and it's abused by thousands who drive up in their Cadillac Escalades to drop off their kids for FREE education and FREE food.

As a result, a school can get extra money if they can show a certain percentage of their students are on free meal plans. Great, that means the students who are poor are getting extra money for tutoring or equipment.

Now, how is it then that kids in poor districts who get free food and free education and extra money from the State, can't pass standardized exams?

I'll tell you why, the parents don't value education.

What brought this up is a rule that if a school fails the standardized tests 5 years in a row - which is 2 more years than need be in my opinion - the state or an independent conservator will run the school. Many schools in Texas are in this shape and NO ONE wants to take them over. No one ...

Education appears to be unimportant to the people whom it can benefit the most.

So, what do I think ...

- If your kid is causing problems by being disruptive, they should be removed immediately by security that is paid for by State dollars. The classroom is for education, not a show of how much you want to be disruptive. They are escorted to a 3x3 room where a book is placed in front of them. They get 3 breaks a day for bathroom and lunch and if they don't pass the test for the day, they return the following day.

- If your kid fails because of attendance reasons - non-sickness - then you should have to pay the tuition for the course. Did you know in Texas the average cost per semester if you had to pay the tuition fees and books for a public education is abotu $20,000 per student? Let the parents who don't care foot the bill for the failure, not the responsible parents.

- There are 3 different diplomas that you can receive when you graduate from high school. Basic, A little better and Advanced. To get the advanced diploma you have to take a college course OR you have to receive 4 professional licenses or certifications. That is so that those who don't go to college can graduate with at least some skills for the working world. If you want to be an EMT, you can get red cross certified, EMT certified and take some basic life saving. It can get you going on your way. It's meant to help students succeed. Many schools offer computer certificaions - A+, Microsoft MCP's, Novell Certifications.

What makes me angry is the fact that students don't succeed when so much is being offered to them.

I loved what a co-worker said who has been deeply involved in educaiton for years. Her words were, "The problem in America is that we strongly believe that we are all created equal; we aren't, not everyone wants to go to college and there is NOTHING wrong with that."

And she's right, not all of us want or have to go to college. There is no shame in any trade that does not require college. My own profession doesn't require college to become a skilled web worker or computer programmer. More doors open with college, but it's not required.

We are equal when it comes to rights and freedoms, we are NOT equal when it comes to school. Not every child has to go to college. Some kids want to graduate and go to work, so why do we want to suggest they pay tons of money for college when they don't want to do that, but want to work in an auto body shop, or become an electrician? Why can't we offer more technical schools so kids can graduate and start working with skills?

- Athletics should not be sponsored by schools. We can spend the money on other things. Baseball is an excellent example of a sport that is paid for and does well outside of school.

It baffles me, why parents don't care and we think it's a shame a kid doesn't go to college.