Friday, June 24, 2005
My EuroBlog
Howdy y'all! Okay - so I won't get to the promised traffic rant. (You probably ought to be glad that I didn't subject you to it ... I had pictures and everything!)
I just wanted to let you know that I am not going to be using this blog while I travel in Europe starting Sunday, 6/26. I have another blog set up at http://www.louannsplace.com/EuroBlog.html.
When I have done major travel during the summer in the past, I have taken my computer with me and sent e-mail travelogues while I travelled. But I have been doing summer road trips, and have had the luxury of lots of SPACE to pack things like computers. This time I am flying and am trying to reduce my packing space. Thus, it will be easier to keep a travel-blog than to try to send e-mail from web-interface e-mail systems.
So .... until sometime after July 29, please keep checking my EuroBlog for updates. I will get online as often as I can find internet cafes or other access. And ... please please please comment on that blog. It will make the difference between me being lonely while I'm traveling and my still feeling connected to home.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Gross!
I was going to blog about another traffic rant (I've got pictures ... you'll get them one of these days before I leave for Europe!)
But, inspired by a friend's reaction to this image, I've decided to share it with y'all. :-) The event: the twins' first birthday. The color of the cake: can't you tell? The only people not to appreciate the blue-tongue phenomena of the frosting: the twins (who were busy wiping the frosting all over their faces!) We all needed to be hosed down later. LOL!!
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Almost Famous...
Okay, you already know that I'm a nerd, so ... if that fact bothers you, stop reading right now. :-) I know that it's very typical here in the DC area to have met someone famous. In fact, there are probably those of you who have met lots of famous people. I'm sure that my degrees of separation to people like the president, important politicians, entertainers, journalists, etc. is very small. BUT ... I have never actually met someone famous. I mean to say, I've never met anyone whose name would be quickly recognizable to a wide audience of people.Well, yesterday, Kate walked into my classroom with a printout of an e-mail sent to all science teachers, but inviting them to include their mathematics colleagues. She was not available for the event that the e-mail described, but wanted to make sure that I was aware that I could attend. An opportunity to meet Phil Mickelson.
Well ... I make some half-hearted attempts to be an amateur golfer. I hit balls at the driving range. I walk the courses occasionally. I even hit less than 90 on a 9-hole course occasionally. ;-) So ... I am familiar with the name "Phil Mickelson". It turns out that he and his wife are very (very) big supporters of math and science education. They are in town for the Booze Allen Classic tournament at the Congressional Country Club in Potomac, MD. They made arrangements to have an "ice cream social" with some area science and math teachers to meet us and to encourage us. They are embarking upon a cooperative effort with Exxon Mobile to start an academy for science teachers. They were wonderfully gracious, and extremely appreciative of what we, science and math teachers, do to impact the children in this country. It was nice to be appreciated!!
Well, each of us had a couple of brief moments to talk with them and to have our pictures taken with them. It was a very nice afternoon. And ... they even served coffee flavored ice cream (my favorite!!) Watch the Booze-Allen Classic this weekend on USA or ABC ... and route for Phil Mickelson. :-)
Friday, June 03, 2005
8th Grade Boys!!!!!
Okay, now I don't think it's entirely appropriate for me to discuss specific situations about my students here on a publicly viewable blog. But I have to point out a generality that has always amused me. Eighth grade boys!! Eighth grade boys are often at radically different levels of maturity than other eighth grade boys. When I say maturity, I mean emotional maturity, physical maturity, social maturity, and academic maturity. (By the way ... the same phenomenon is not nearly so drastic for girls!) We will often have an 8th grade boy who is very academically mature yet still looks like a 3rd grader. Or an 8th grade boy with two years worth of facial hair, big muscles and a deep voice ... who cries easily.
The fun thing is when we have had a boy who was very physically immature as an 8th grader, and he comes back to visit us four or five years later and we don't recognize him. This happened one day this week. It cracks me up. The boy who had a high pitched voice, a little boy's build, and a cute little face in my memory showed up in my classroom on Thursday. I didn't recognize him. He told me who he was. I did, most certainly, remember the name. But the face I was looking at was absolutely not the face in my memory. He was still a very nice kid, and I enjoyed talking with him and catching up with him. But I could not, not, match my memory of his face to who I was seeing. Not even after we had talked for about 15 minutes.
Needless to say, he has matured quite nicely. I wish they would ALL come back to visit!!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Deep Throat!!
Okay, I have to assume that some of the most widely read blogs today are going to be posting about the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat. And, of course, MY blog is not at all widely read ... but I wanted to join the throng. (By the way ... if you Google the search string "Deep Throat blog", you get some things that have nothing to do with Watergate.)
Anyway ... not that I have much to say on the topic. I mean, I wasn't even 5 years old when some of this stuff happened. (Although, I must admit that I remember seeing Nixon on the television getting on the airplane and turning around to give the "V" for victory handsignals!!)
But, my parents and I have had lots of conversations over the years about the situation. Lots of speculations about the JFK assassination, discussions about the war in Viet Nam, and lots of discussions about the controversies and mysteries surrounding the Nixon scandal. In fact, the first person I called when I heard the news yesterday that W. Mark Felt had revealed his identity as Deep Throat was my Mom.
I find this whole thing fascinating. I have been reading about it online. First I went to my old stand-by for news stories ... CNN.com. Here is CNN.com's story.
But, CNN.com's story also has a link to the Washington Post stories (which is entirely appropriate, given that the two reporters who met with Deep Throat in the first place were Washington Post reporters). SO ... here is the link for the main story at the Washington Post. Make sure that you click through on the links on the sidebars ... there are some fabulous supporting materials, like a timeline of events with links to related stories, photo galleries, etc. Enjoy!!
So ... I guess that I have to stop pretending that I was Deep Throat......
