I got some bad news yesterday. M & S are both clients and friends. I've known them for over thirty years. They asked me a few years ago to be executor of their estate. They didn't want one of their kids to do it because they didn't want to create a battle between the kids. I was the one outside of the family that the trusted the most so I agreed to do it for them. Last summer on a flight home from the East Coast S picked up a virus and has been ill since. She has undergone several tests and treatments. In an e-mail from Mark yesterday he said S wasn't doing well at all. Then he threw in another kicker, he has prostate cancer. He has surgery on Tuesday. I know they would appreciate some positive energies, good vibes, and/or prayers if that is your style. I know they have mine.
Teachers have a hard job. They work hard and right now due to budget concerns the work under not the best of circumstances. During school I had some really good teachers (Thank you Baldy Foster) and some clueless teachers (take that Mr. Phelps). Overall I say most teachers do their job and do their job well. However, once in a while a teacher like the one mentioned in the following article slips into the job:
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/14/parents-hot-over-florida-teacher-frank-rozanskis-sexual-tension/
Is this teacher a good teacher? Was this the right thing for him to teach or was he off the mark? I think if he was going to teach the subject he should have had enough brains to get parental approval first.
On to the good. Another method to help teachers:
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/15/roboroaches-students-prepare-to-control-roaches-with-remote-con/
Away from teaching for the final article of the day. I've never liked Ann Coulter. I thought she was rude, ignorant, and mean. It surprises me that the media gives her so much attention. Here is the latest from her:
http://www.newser.com/story/114417/ann-coulter-radiation-is-good-for-you.html
Do you believe her? Is radiation good for you?
Looking forward to your comments.
Who Am I?
I was born in 1872 and died at the age of eighty-five. I was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California. I am known for designing castles but designed multiple buildings for institutions serving women and girls. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in civil engineering. After that I headed to Paris to apply to the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Denied at first because the school was not accepting women, and a second time because I failed the entrance exam. After two years I finally passed the entrance exams in the architecture program, placing 13th out of 376 applicants, and was duly admitted. I was the first woman to graduate with a degree in architecture from the school in Paris. I eventually opened my own office in the city by the bay. My most famous client was a magnate and and antiquities collector. Five of the Southern California YWCA buildings were designed by me. If you go to San Simeon and see who the castle there was designed by you will be able to answer the question, Who Am I?
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7 comments:
Good wishes and healing vibes to your friends M & S, Bill.
I have to agree that the test is a bit disgusting. As an adult, I of course jumped to sexual innuendo, though there was a bit of a puzzler in question #2. Lee's theory that "children" would find the questions innocent sort of goes out the window since it was given to high school kids.
I'm not fond of cockroaches, but their calling one project a medieval cockroach torture device hits the mark. Having said that, I'm all for neuroscience studies, but still...
Ann Coulter is an idiot. She mentioned one name and I looked him up. He has made some rather astonishing claims, including an offer to consume on camera as much plutonium oxide as Ralph Nader could consume of caffeine. I don't think anyone took him up on his offer.
Best wishes and prayers for your friends, Bill. Please keep us posted.
The high school test does raise some interesting questions. Yes, I suspect most adults immediately say sexual innuendo. One of the questions I have is how many students got the answers right? The test and the student answers alone could provide an interesting study on perception.
Cockroaches... having spent 9-1/2 years in FL, they're not my favorite critters. If they can be used for learning more about neuroscience, I guess I'm okay with that altho, like Pat, the reference to cockroach torture did put me off. I'm not in favor of torture of any sort.
Ann Coulter... hmmm... not really familiar with her. She does raise some interesting questions, regarding the sensationalism of media reporting and the scare environment and attitude that comes up, every time a nuclear reactor plan is proposed anywhere. I know of folks who've refused to have x-rays and other tests done, because of fear of radiation - tests that could clarify a diagnosis or even be a potential cure. I think we need a realistic assessment of radiation. I think Coulter is off the mark, but I also think we don't really have the honest assessment and evaluation of radiation exposure we may need to make informed decisions about exposure. Is it good for you? Well, it's certainly proven to be beneficial in many cancer treatments. I guess the question becomes "how much is too much?" and I don't know where we find the honest answer to that.
Bill, Good wishes, vibes and all the prayers I can muster coming your way for your friends M & S.
Dona, what's the latest on the new grandbaby?
Hi Pat
I talked to M & S yesterday and he seemed to be in pretty good spirits, his surgery is Tuesday for implants.
I didn't think anyone would find the quiz "innocent" which just proves how clueless the teacher is.
I hate cockroaches but I think any neuroscience studies have their bennefits its unlike Coulter who has none. I am hoping that Coulter some day will drink as much plutonim oxide as Nader does caffiene.
Bill
Hi DR
Thanks for the wisshes I know M & S apreciate it.
Interesting point about how many questions the students got right on the test. I think if the teacher has used enough brains to pass it by parents before using the test it wouldn't have been such a big deal.
I agree with you, I'm not in favor of torture of any sort
It is interesting that a media whore such as Ann Coulter would criticize the media that made her a millionaire many times over.
I agree with you that we need a realistic assessment of radiation but do we really have one?
In all the instances you stated the radiation was in a controlled situation where people were wearing protective gear and monitored. Yes it did have some benefits but like you I wonder where the line is.
Since you don't know who Ann Coulter is here are some of her quotes:
on the women who lost husbands on 9-11:
"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much."
to a disabled Vietnam Vet injured by one of our own bombs:
"People like you caused us to lose that war." (she later claimed she didn't know he was disabled)
On troubled teens:
"I have to say I'm all for public flogging. One type of criminal that a public humiliation might work particularly well with are the juvenile delinquents, a lot of whom consider it a badge of honor to be sent to juvenile detention. And it might not be such a cool thing in the 'hood' to be flogged publicly."
On women voting:
"I think [women] should be armed but should not vote ... women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it ... it's always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care. "
Hi Dona
M & S thank you!
Sorry about your clothes.
I'm with DR I want to know how the baby, The Shankster, and you are doing!
Bill
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